Mobile Suit Gundam SEED: Renaissance
by Paladin of Freedom
Summary: As dark wraiths engulf the postMessiah world under the shadow of chaos, Shinn Asuka is forced to join Kira Yamato and Terminal to stop an old evil, and seek rebirth for his tortured soul. PostGSD story, mostly canon but AU from Final Plus. Updated
1. Prologue

_**Author's Notes:**_

_Welcome to Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Renaissance, an epic fanfiction I have written as my own original continuation of the Gundam SEED saga. This will be story that I will try to base on official canon as best as I can, starting during the turbulent time after the Battle of Messiah between Gilbert Dullindal's ZAFT forces and Terminal. The major characters of the Gundam SEED saga, as well as some original characters I created, will play important roles in Renaissance, but this will be a Shinn-centric tale, to fill the gaps to and finish his story and the trials he encountered in Destiny. _

_Since originally Destiny was supposed to be told from Athrun's POV, as shown in the manga and the new Special Edition DVDs, the anime ran into problems when Shinn became relegated to the status of anti-hero, thus leaving his characterization incomplete. While Fukuda attempted to correct this by giving him closure via Final Plus, the ending was still weak and left Shinn with a lot of holes in his character. Therefore, Renaissance will continue the story where Destiny left off, but will start with Final Plus not coming to mind: that Phase never happened here, so the scenes where Shinn met Kira at the memorial at the end of the war never came to be. I will use the original Phase 50 story, which ended at the moon. I felt the shaking of hands between the two major protagonists was lacking in strength, with all the conflict between them. Otherwise, all other aspects of Renaissance follows canon, with a few other exceptions._

_So relax, sit back, and enjoy my tale._

_SEED Mode On!

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_**Disclaimers: **_

_**Mobile Suit Gundam SEED is owned and copyrighted by Mitsuo Fukuda, the Sotsu Agency, Sunrise and BANDAI.

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**_

**Prologue: Gravestones In Winter**

* * *

_**Lake Havelburg, Northeast of Berlin, **_

_**Brandenburg Province**_

_**German Republic,**_

_**Eurasian Federation,**_

_**December 13, CE 74**_

The sun was slowly rising above the mountaintops, bringing its warming grace to the snow covered landscape of the Brandenburg countryside. Small birds were waking up to the rays of the immortal disc, chirping as they began their search for food for their young ones. The wolves in forest too were stirring, as the packs started their own hunts for the day.

The cool, soft, morning wind was breezing from the west, clashing with the sun's warmth in the battle to hold the tempo of the day's march across time. As dark clouds passed over to cover the sun from the earth, the gripping chill seems to hold sway, tempting to dampen the moods of people waking from slumber, hoping for the warmth that would help ease their day's burden.

But winter rules the day, as the cold continues its grasp on the country air. Not that it mattered to the quiet, young man driving down the country road, because the winter in his heart had slowly killed the fire that once burned brightly in his green eyes.

The chill breeze was billowing through his long, dark blue hair, and the cold was biting into his cheeks. It made him feel alive, even though he felt he died many times before - it seemed it was destiny's choice that kept him alive, all but torn inside by the burden put upon by a dead father's madness, made heavier by nightmares of a war he survived. Alive - but dying all the same.

_I don't want to be held back by destiny. I make and made my own choices. What I am now is of my own making._ Anger flashed in the depths of his eyes, followed by the creeping sadness that seemed to control what he sees through the window of his soul. _But I am still my father's son._

Athrun Zala drove on, searching for one who lost the same fire that he had, but one who has a chance to rekindle it once again. A chance Athrun knew he could probably never have again.

He could see the lake now, as Athrun turned around the corner of the road on the side of the hill. The blue water of the lake was peeking over the birch trees of the forest along the banks of the shore. Athrun didn't see any sign of human habitation yet, but the left turn at a fork in the road led to the interior of the forest showed the traces of some shelter nearby He took the left, the rough road a sign that this was not a path regularly used by vehicles. The road gradually fell, and soon a small clearing came into view.

A small log cabin sat in a corner of the clearing, a motorcycle parked near its front door. Piles of firewood were neatly stacked near the opposite corner of the clearing by a small tool shack and a well that looked to be still well-used. An axe was pierced into a stump of tree indicated where the firewood was cut for the cabin's inhabitants.

Athrun parked his four-by-four alongside the shack, and stepped down unto the snow-patched soil. He looked around for signs of anyone nearby, first at the cabin then the shack, but found no one was clearly around at the moment. Not that the place was uninhabited, the subtle traces of garbage and cut wood chips belied that fact. But the person or persons living here was nowhere to be found.

Just when he thought he would not find who he was looking for, Athrun located a path from the cabin leading deeper into the forest, in the direction of the lake. He started to head towards the path, and soon was navigating his way thru the woods. The smell of the lake was permeating with the scent of birch, and Athrun knew he was nearing the shoreline.

As he emerged from the forest, Athrun found himself looking upon the water, small waves of which were slowly encroaching onto the narrow strip of sand and soil he was walking along. Athrun stopped and looked over one end of the shore and saw someone kneeling, seemingly working on something on the ground on a small rise facing the lake. Slowly, he recognized the person, a young man, and felt a sudden reluctance to continue towards him. Athrun started off a little slower this time, lest he disturb him and draw his ire, a temper Athrun knew well and feared.

As he walked ever closer Athrun noticed that the person did not turn nor acknowledge his presence. Athrun looked the young man over. He couldn't see from the man's jacket, but can sense that the young man had grown stronger and leaner, developing well in his late teens. The black hair was still as ragged as ever and growing longer. Athrun found the young man looking much more mature than when he last saw him, but knew that the real evidence of the man's true strength lies deep inside his eyes.

Athrun stopped and stood in silence a few feet away from him. He still couldn't see what the man was doing, but saw a clump of dirt and gardening tools off to one side. Athrun thought of a way to greet the person, without startling him and being rude. But before he could say anything the man suddenly stood up, holding a small shovel, and without facing him, spoke.

"So at last you found me, huh? That shouldn't been hard for you, right, Zala?" the man said in a neutral, but strained tone. He still did not face Athrun, and seemingly keep his gaze at the blue waters of the lake.

"_Iie_," Athrun replied reluctantly. He could now see what was the young man was working with. It was a patch of soil, with a simple, granite gravestone lying on it. He felt uncomfortable talking to the man, after all that happened between them in the recent past. "It isn't easy to find someone who doesn't want to be found."

The man snorted. "But you still did. So who did you convince to talk into telling you where I am?"

Athrun looked over his surrounding, to cover his uneasiness. He wanted to phrase his answer carefully to avoid more sensitive topics. "I tracked down your friends from the _Minerva_, and asked them about you." He paused and licked his lips. "It wasn't easy. They really didn't want to tell me, much less talk to me. But eventually I got around to them. Petty Officer Kent gave me an idea, although he never really said anything much. Don't blame him, though. I just pieced everything together," Athrun stopped, and gazed at the man's back.

The man shrugged. "Good 'ole Youlan. Trust him not to keep his mouth shut. What did he say?"

"Just that you wanted to get away from it all - to somewhere far where no one could find you. He didn't hint much, but it was a start."

Athrun hoped that his answer was enough, but the young man didn't seem interested by it. He tilted his head to his right a little as he spoke again. "So what did _Luna_ tell you?"

Athrun let out an inaudible sigh, hoping that the man did not catch it. This was what he was avoiding - Athrun didn't want to get into a conversation about her. Luna was Lunamaria Hawke, Meyrin's sister. For Meyrin's sake he didn't want to involve Luna in his search, but both of them knew that the magenta haired mobile suit pilot was the best source of information about this man and his whereabouts – they were in a relationship together, until he left her some months ago. So Athrun sought her out, and got the answers he needed from a still hurting Luna – answers that she told never to speak to her about again. "She said that I'd find you where you brought _her_," Athrun answered.

The man stiffened and turned to face him. "That's right - I took her here. She liked the water – the sea, the blue lakes. It's the least I could do when after I failed to protect her." The stared into Athrun's and projected the guilt and sorrow he feeling underneath the mask of anger. Athrun felt he could take his own eyes away from the stare – the man's red eyes held him paralyzed at the fury they were emanating.

_Angry, red eyes_.

Athrun broke the gaze first, berating himself for again showing weakness in front of the young man. "Luna wasn't happy to speak to me about you."

The anger in the red eyes seemed to magnify. "You're a real bastard, aren't you Zala. You even had the gall to bother her for this," the young man said with shrug. "First you got Meyrin involved, and now Luna."

Athrun took in the thinly veiled blow like a man. "Meyrin was different. And don't worry. Luna wasn't happy to see me too."

"It makes no difference."

Athrun didn't hold back anymore. "There's a difference," he snapped back. "Meyrin had a choice. You're right in saying she shouldn't have gotten involved. But she chose too and I'm grateful for that. I'm doing all that I can to see that she's well. Luna, on the other hand, wanted to be with you. I can see from her that she was ready to give up everything for you. So why'd you'd just run off and leave her like - ", Athrun stopped, and stared back again at the red eyes.

"Damn you, Zala!" Athrun could see the hatred smolder in man's eyes.

Athrun stood his ground. "Luna never wanted anything than to be happy with you. She cared for you and stayed by your side even though she could see that you were being manipulated by both Rey and Dullindal. She stayed by you after war's end, but what did _you_ do?" Athrun swept his hands to encompass the surroundings. "You left her for _this_? Is this what's right for you and Luna?" Athrun said in a growing voice. He paused, keeping his anger in check once more and hands falling, sighed. "Is this the future you chose and want?"

The young man clenched his fists. But like Athrun he held his anger at bay with great effort, and turned away from him once more. "What the hell do you want from me, Zala?"

"I came here looking for you," Athrun replied in a civil voice, "to see if I can't persuade you to come back with me - back to Orb." The young man seemed taken aback by this, and said nothing in return.

Both men kept silent for a few minutes, and the snow was falling stronger, before Athrun spoke again. "You know that some of us are working to make the peace work and that none of that madness happens again." Athrun shrugged. "I know that sounds like wishful thinking, but we have to try to make it work. For everyone's sake, Naturals and Coordinators," Athrun paused, breathing heavily. "We can't have world fall into darkness again."

The young man pointed at the gravestone at his feet. "But what about her? What does peace do for her? It won't bring her back."

_It won't bring her back._

Athrun took some steps forward, standing by the young man's side. "No, she wouldn't come back," he said softly. "But I'll help make sure that those like her, those who should only live in a world far from war, can live that life. But I'll need your help."

He took out a white envelope from the inner pocket of his jacket. "Please take this. Inside's an Orb Union passport in your name and two airline tickets for you. They can be used from any airport in the world, one flight to Orb and one out to anywhere you want to go, if you don't like what you see and find there."

The young man made no move to take the envelope. "Why should I go and help Orb? Why should I help Athha and her brother? Help those who killed my family? Help _him_ who killed Stellar? Those who took my life away?" he snickered and shrugged. "I think you better leave, Zala."

Athrun gazed into the lake. "Alright, I'll go. But first hear me out. Take it and keep it for a while. Think of what _you_ could do to make this world better. You have the talent, but you are wasting it here feeling sorry for yourself." The man flinched and stiffened, but Athrun didn't stop. "I know you're angry with me. I've done so much to make you hurt. And I wasn't able to stop my friends from hurting you more."

Athrun's gaze fell to the gravestone. "But you can do something about it. You don't need to get along with us, but only help us. You can tell us if we're doing wrong, and I'll make sure we'll listen. We owe it to you. We don't want to be caught not doing anything anymore, when we have the power to do what's right, but lack the courage to do so. You could be our _conscience_."

"I am giving you a choice. You'll have a free hand with what to do, whatever path you take. You can pursue the future you know you want and worked for. Destiny won't hold you back anymore," Athrun paused, and finished whispering. "I made my choice, and I don't regret it. 'Cause I know I was right."

The young man flipped his head backed and laughed harshly. "We'll _never_ escape destiny, Zala," he retorted, sarcasm dripping like blood. He tugged his jacket and turned to Athrun again. He took the envelope and started walking away towards the path back to the cabin. He stopped as he entered the tree-lined path. "We'll always be held back by who you are, or what you did - whatever choices we make." He looked at the envelope in his hand, and flicked it away, landing in the sandy beach. And then the man disappeared into the path, leaving Athrun standing alone by the gravestone now being covered by snow again.

"Shinn-" Athrun called out to the retreating figure, but there was no reply. Feeling defeated, Athrun started his slow walk back from the lake.

* * *

Shinn Asuka watched from the cabin's window as Athrun left in his pickup. He didn't speak to Athrun anymore after he left him at the gravesite. He was still angry at Athrun's nerve to look for him, and his nerve to accuse him of leaving Luna. _What the hell does he know?_

He wasn't there when he had those dreams - dreams of Stellar visiting him again, always saying to him that she'll visit him tomorrow. Shinn always dreamt of chasing her, asking her to stay. The dreams always ended with the _Messiah's_ explosion swallowing up Stellar, and the shockwave pushing Shinn away. Shinn always woke up screaming, drenched in a cold sweat.

The dreams terrified him, and he knew it scared and saddened Lunamaria more during the time they were together recuperating in Armory One, as the _Minerva_ was being repaired after being severely damaged in the last battle of the Second Bloody Valentine War.

At first Luna didn't say anything, she knew of Shinn's history with the late Extended pilot. But as the nights of constant fear and sleeplessness grew more frequent, she couldn't take it anymore. She had to ask him. Shinn was afraid of the questions. He tried to avoid it but he knew he couldn't do that forever. Angry and frustrated, Luna asked the questions Shinn feared the most.

_How long must we go on like this? I don't want to live under her shadow forever! Why can't you just let her go? I'm ALIVE, Shinn! Don't put me in the same place as the dead!"_

With those honest but hurtful words Shinn's anger almost took the better of him that day, and almost struck the woman who stayed with him after all the confusion of the war. Her words gave voice to the reality Shinn wanted to deny, and was angry at her for it. He realized at the last moment that he would have sinned against his own soul for destroying the love she gave to him, but he could not reciprocate – could not; would not. Again Luna's love for him saved him, and he was so ashamed of his actions that he felt the need to go away.

And so he broke up with her. Shinn told her that he was stupid and not worthy of her. He told her that all he could give her was pain and suffering, and that his heart was forever torn as much as his soul was. She never spoke to him again, nor allowed himself to see the tears that flowed from her eyes as she lay in bed alone at night.

Three days later Shinn left the PLANTs, without as much as saying goodbye to her. After a week in Gibraltar he resigned his commission, and disappeared. He ended up here, always knowing he had to be here. The place where he could see Stellar again, by the water, which he knew she loved. The place she promised to see him tomorrow.

A tomorrow Shinn was afraid would never come.

* * *

_**Copernicus Memorial Park**_

_**Copernicus City**_

_**The Moon**_

_**December 13, CE 74**_

_On the day we were born, we were embraced_

_And now we search for those gentle arms again_

_The melody of pray; one vanishes_

_And all begins again; a powerless painful continuation_

Lacus Clyne was singing. Her soft somber melody filled the quiet air of the park. Tears were flowing from her eyes, falling on the bouquet of white roses she held in her arms. The song was filled with love and grief for the one resting at this part of the park, the one who mirrors Lacus' soul, but so different as she was as similar.

_One day; to that green morning_

_We'll cross through these nights_

_Because that is a place each one of us searches for_

She stood by the white tomb. A cherry tree stood above, giving some shade to the tomb from the artificial sun of the moon city. Its branches are bare, as the season for cherry blossoms were still months away. A bird's nest rested on one the branches, with its inhabitants quiet, seemingly listening to the heartfelt melody emanating from below

_I saw a dream about you_

_You were laughing like a child_

_The promise of the future nostalgic; yet distant_

_Believing that I'll eventually reach_

_That verdant morning_

_Because I am believing in the shaking heavens_

_The fields of hope_

As her song ended, the pink-haired songstress laid the bouquet on the gravestone, and clasped her hands together. She said a silent prayer for the one who lay there, whom Lacus considered to be her prodigal sister, even though a stranger. Lacus wiped away stray leaves on the gravestone, and ran her fingers on the engraving on its smooth face.

_MEER CAMPBELL_

_July 2, CE 56 – June 3, CE 74_

_Her Song Is Her Life_

_Her Song Will Live Forever_

Lacus blamed herself for Meer's death. Had Lacus the courage in the years in between the wars, had she not hid herself and Kira away in Reverend Malchio's orphanage, she could have been there to help prevent the second war.

_If I hadn't been so scared._

But Meer's appearance on the stage of madness Dullindal had orchestrated gave Lacus the realization that she had to act. She had seen in Meer what could have been if she had accepted the former PLANT Chairman's early request to assist him in post-war efforts to mobilize the people in his "peace", a utopia controlled not by the will of the people but by what they were suited for by their genes. Lacus would never have accepted that, and she now realized that Dullindal's attempts to kill her and Kira would have been inevitable. As inevitable as Meer's ascension as Lacus' fake double.

So Lacus was grateful to Meer. Meer showed Lacus her mirror side, with all her faults and fallacies looking back at her. Lacus learned from the mistakes, even those committed before she even made them. And Meer saved her life, even though Meer wanted it as her own. Meer wanted the name Lacus had and Lacus was willing to give it, even though she would not give the humanity that made her Lacus Clyne away. Lacus remembered the words she said to Meer in that fateful day.

_If you want the name, then I will give it to you. But even after that, you and I are two different people. That will never change. We cannot be anything but ourselves. But that's why you and I exist here, right?_

Now only one exists. An existence scarred by the lost of the other.

A hand lay gently on Lacus' shoulder. She turned to see who it was, but the tears blurred her vision and she failed to recognize him. His voice took awhile to register with her, but the kindness and sincerity in the words told her who he was, and she covered her face on his chest.

"Kira…"

Kira Yamato held her close, his strength giving her warmth. Lacus was a strong person, probably the strongest-willed person Kira ever knew. But their love and trust for each has given Lacus the strength to show Kira her fear of showing her true feelings, that behind the strong wall she was a woman both happy and sad.

Lacus never shows the tears to anyone, not even when her father died late in the last war. She felt she needed to be strong for everyone. Only Kira sees the tears. Only Kira understood how she felt.

"Lacus, let's go."

Lacus allowed Kira to lead her away. They slowly walked away, quietly taking in the peace of the surroundings. As they reach their parked car, Lacus turns back to look one last time at the tomb, and said her parting.

"Goodbye, my _sister_. I will see you when the cherry blossoms bloom again."

_**ZAFT War Memorial Cemetery

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**_

_**Januarius Five**_

_**PLANT, L5**_

_**December 13, CE 74**_

The little boy too was standing in front of a gravestone. Not one, but two. The boy stood still, unmoving, as if waiting for the chill breeze to take him away, flying to the heavens or some better place. As long it takes him away, away from this place of sadness and pain.

The boy stood silent, guarding those who rest in this place. Two persons - both dear to him but never again with him. In spirit, maybe, but little boys needs the comfort of having someone hold him, to guide him, grow with him thru life.

But for this little boy someone else must take the place of two loved ones lost. For in death the body cannot return, to tell the little boy that everything was all right. That war was just a silly game were people will not die.

In silence the little boy sings his song of sadness, with only tears manifesting as melody. Only two words fill the lyric of his song - words of love and heartache.

"…Mommy…_onee-san_ …"

Murrue Ramius watched in silence as the little boy knelt before the gravestones and started crying. Her heart was pierced with sorrow for the child, for children has always had a special place for her.

An elementary teacher before enlisting in the military as a reserve officer, the captain of the _Archangel_ always considered nurturing young children thru education and affection her main calling in life, but the war sidetracked that. Murrue put all her efforts now to lead responsibly and guide her crew, as with her young students, safely thru the madness of conflict, and prepare them for their work for peace

But the sight of a child so young grieving over the loss of his mother and sibling in the last war, when he had lost his father in the first one, was too hard to bear. She gripped a little harder on her companion's arm, seeking the support she needs to bear thru this scene. Her companion, a tall, long blond-haired man whose handsome but scarred face gazed at the little boy in confused silence, placed his hand over Murrue, a tender touch of strength and stability.

A middle-aged woman bent down picked up the child, now sobbing on her shoulders. The woman tried to soothe the child's heartache thru some whispered words and gently rocked the little boy like the baby he once was.

A man, who was the woman's companion, stroked the child's hair, hoping his affection could add to his comfort. The man turned and faced Murrue, a sad smile playing in his face. He strode over to Murrue and held out his hand. "Thank you again for coming. It's so nice of you to come and see Johnny. My grandson has been a having a very hard time with everything. My wife and I are so worried for him. He loved his mother and brother so much. And now…" the man stopped, hanging his head.

Another shot of sadness raked Murrue's heart. "It was a request of your daughter that I visit her son for her. It was a request I wouldn't refuse. It is an obligation of honor, sir." Murrue bowed to the man. "Though I've only met your daughter a few times, most of them on opposite sides of the battlefield, I have utmost respect and admiration for her. To have been asked to see to her son's well being is a honor I am not worthy of."

"My daughter would be honored that you granted her request," the man bowed back, a bit lower. "You also honor my family by seeing my grandson." The man stood straight and looked Murrue in the eye. "I ask for two more things, Ramius-_Kanchou_, that you could please indulge."

Murrue matched the man's stance. "Anything you ask, sir." Her companion blinked, seemingly coming out of a dream. He was looking at the boy, never taking his eyes from him till now.

The man smiled sadly again. "I only ask that you continue your good work. Work for the peace we all desire. All men, be it Naturals or Coordinators like my family should not be driven by hatred for each other." The man looked at Murrue's companion, and back at her. "Those of you who have the courage and honor to see the path of peace must stay vigilant. You're young enough to live the life that's ahead of you. But you must see to it that your life will not be in vain. That it wont be a life held by destiny and this mad cycle of war and sadness we've seen in recent days. Ever guard for those who would destroy this rebirth of peace and harmony upon us."

Again the man bowed. "I also ask that you honor this man and his family again by accepting my next request. Since little Johnny has been left with no one but for my wife and myself, I humbly ask you if you could be his godmother. "

The shock in Murrue's eyes was evident. _I am being given an honor more than any medal or rank can give – the responsibility for the little boy's well-being._ "I don't know what to say, sir," Murrue answered reluctantly.

The man smiled again. "Please here me out. You remind me of my daughter. You are an honorable person, who I see is responsible and caring for those you guide and command. And from your eyes I see someone who holds the care for children dearly. You are someone my wife and I can depend on for the welfare and growth of my grandson when we are already gone."

Murrue was touched by the sentiment, and tears were dropping as she bowed again. "I accept this honor with all humility sir. I will work for the peace you seek for your grandson, and he will live knowing I will be there if he needs me."

The woman was now walking towards them, little Johnny at her side holding her hand. Her husband took Johnny and led him to Murrue. "Johnny, I would like you to meet someone."

Murrue knelt and hugged the child. "Hello Johnny. It's so nice to finally meet you. I'm your godmother, Murrue." She looked into the boy's eyes, a genuine smile on her face for the first time in the day. "I'm your mother's _friend_."

* * *

They were some distance away from the ZAFT War Cemetery now, driving in their car along the main highway, heading for the main city area of Januarius Five. Murrue was thinking of her conversation with Johnny, getting to know his new godson a little, talking about his toys and favorite games, and promising to see him again the next time she was in the PLANTs. Little Johnny was still sad with passing of his mother and brother, but like most children his age the signs of normalcy thru the talking about little things like toys and playthings show the great capacity of healing for them.

These thoughts were going thru Murrue's mind when she noticed her companion's abnormal quiet through their visit to Captain Talia Glady's and Rey Za Burrel's resting places. Even now he was silent, seemingly concentrated in driving, but the eyes betraying troubled thoughts. _I guess he's affected by Za Burrel's death. Rey was another one of his dad's clones like Rau La Crueset before him. _Murrue put her hand into his._ And he has this strange mind-link with them._ "I know you're bothered by going there, but it's all for the best, my love."

"It's not that, Murrue," her companion replied, still keeping his eyes on the road.

That wasn't the answer she expected. "What is it then?" Murrue asked.

Mu La Flaga/Neo Lorrnoke stared into her eyes briefly before turning back to the road. "It's the boy." The confusion in his face grew. "It's like I've known him for a long, long time."

* * *


	2. Phase One

**

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Phase One: The Darkness Falling From The Sky

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**

_**The Grand Hall**_

_**The Royal Palace**_

_**Oslo**_

_**Kingdom of Scandinavia**_

_**December 16, CE 74**_

Ever since she was a child, Cagalli Yula Athha always felt uncomfortable wearing a formal gown. She felt vulnerable when forced to be in one. She was more at ease wearing a business suit, or worse a military-style uniform. She felt more confident and powerful in one. And she could always hide a gun in those if she wanted too. But she could not do that now, when a state dinner between world leaders like her calls for a more formal and lady-like attire for a major diplomatic affair.

Not that she had any choice in the matter. When Ledonir Kisaka, her trusted friend, commander and guardian, saw the itinerary for the New United Nations Council conference and treaty signing called for the state dinner, he immediately asked Mana, her chambermaid to prepare her something appropriate to wear. Mana, whom Cagalli loved since she was young but annoyed at her unending efforts to see that she grew up a "_proper lady_", whatever that meant, conspired with Kisaka earnestly.

Though Mana's choice of a simple blue sleeveless gown with thin silver trimmings was at first a very good choice, Cagalli was horrified when she saw its backless feature. She was about to veto the gown when the wily governess brought in reinforcements, the day before Cagalli left for Oslo.

"_What are you talking about, Cagalli? This is a very nice gown." Lacus Clyne remarked, in her ever-cheery voice. "You would absolutely look lovely in it."_

_While she was her best friend, Lacus was a bit annoying to Cagalli at times too, with sometimes ever optimistic view of life. But Cagalli couldn't hate her for that – Lacus was her closest female friend, and was the special someone for her "little brother". And Cagalli also knew that underneath Lacus' veil of playfulness and innocence, there was the other persona of a great and powerful woman with charm and ability to end two wars. That made Lacus a woman to reckon with, and Cagalli was grateful that she was a loyal friend and ally to her and Orb._

_The pink-haired songstress watched as Cagalli was looking the gown over by the mirror, and itching to get out of it._

_Cagalli looked scandalized. "If you think I'll show up in a room with the most powerful persons in the whole wide world in _this_, you've got to be…"_

"_Kidding?" Lacus finished. _

"_Nope, I was thinking more in the line of crazy." Cagalli shook her hair. "Why do I have to wear this?"_

"_You look beautiful in it," Lacus said, still smiling. Lacus was used to her sharp remarks to know that she didn't really mean it. It was just her way of venting frustration. "It matches your great figure, which I don't know why you're so scared about flaunting. And the blue and silver matches your blonde hair very well. A nice necklace would finish the perfect picture."_

So reluctantly Cagalli followed Lacus' advice, and wore a silver necklace to match the gown. But wearing something backless and revealing made her feel naked and exposed, however soft and beautiful the fabric was and she had (well in her point of view) the physique to carry such an outfit. She drew polite glances from everyone in the hall, and few less polite ones when they thought she didn't see them.

_Let me hear someone _whistle_ at me and I'll break his nose, protocol and world peace be damned!_

But world peace was the ultimate objective of this conference, so protocol was to be strictly followed, as Kisaka told her. And she didn't have the courage to see Athrun's face when he finds out she attacked someone for _leering_ at her in a state dinner. Not that the Justice pilot wouldn't have done something about, taking things unto his own hands. But Athrun was a stickler for protocol and decorum, and, like Kisaka and Mana, another one of those who strictly see to it that she was acting properly.

So here was Cagalli Yula Athha, Chief Representative of the Orb Union, a hero of the First and Second Wars, walking gracefully (as gracefully as she could) down the receiving line in the Grand Hall of the Royal Palace of Oslo, to meet with Haakon XVII, King of Scandinavia and the host of the Oslo Peace Conference.

The receiving line was full of dignitaries, all powerful and influential men and women. The Earth Alliance member-states were led by Robert Harding, the new President of the Atlantic Federation. A tall man in his mid-fifties, Harding was a moderate politician who was a former OMNI Enforcer ground commander in the First War. He was Copeland's vice president during the Second War, and was thrust to the Presidency when Copeland was killed during the _Requiem's_ attack on Althea. Harding was against the Second War, but was pushed out of the limelight by the Blue Cosmos handlers of Copeland. Now he was working studiously for the peace, knowing that the Atlantic Federation needed clean its image a former Blue Cosmos stooge with support for peace between them and their Coordinator enemies.

Franz Goetzen was the Eurasian Federation's President. A strong, well-built Prussian in his sixties, Goetzen was another former military man, serving as commander of Eurasia's tank forces, before his retirement before the First War. He has a great distrust for the Atlantic Federation, and during the negotiations showed ill-veiled contempt for Harding. He proved to be a problem in the negotiations, only King Haakon and the new PLANT Chairman Katarina Westenfluss' calming influence eased Goetzen's antipathy to his former allies.

Katarina Westenfluss. At thirty she was now the youngest Chairman of the Productive Location Allied Nexus of Technology or PLANT. A second-generation Coordinator at birth, the raven-haired woman graduated as an economist in the university in Junius One. She witnessed the Bloody Valentine Incident, and afterwards joined the government as a member of the Junius One's local government. She quickly rose through the ranks and was the second youngest member of the Supreme Council during the time of Chairman Gilbert Dullindal. At first supportive of the Second Bloody Valentine and its aims, that changed with the death of her brother, Heine Westenfluss, at the Battle of Dardanelles.

Although she had a cordial professional relationship with Dullindal, and continued to support him during the _Requiem's_ attack on the Januarius PLANTs, Westenfluss was one of the first opposed to the Destiny Plan, and was promptly imprisoned for a short period prior to the Battle of _Messiah_. She was freed and regained her position in the Council at the end of the war, and was voted as the new Chairman after two months. Westenfluss was the most hard-working member of the negotiating factions, working tirelessly for peace.

King Haakon XVII was hosting this state dinner in honor of the achievements of the conference, which culminated in the signing just that morning of the Treaty of Oslo, signed by the former belligerents of the Second War, heralding the start of a new and lasting peace between Earth and the PLANTs, Naturals and Coordinator.

The different factions of the war agreed in the Treaty to recognize the inherent right of each other of peaceful coexistence between all states. They also reconvened the United Nations into the New United Nations Council, to serve as a collegial body for all the member nation-states to settle problems and differences diplomatically between themselves.

Orb played a major part in the ending of the war, with the Terminal's victory over forces loyal to ZAFT Chairman Gilbert Dullindal and his Destiny Plan. With the destruction of the _Messiah_ space fortress the threat to the freedom of all mankind was defeated, but there was still the problem of hateful feelings between the forces on both sides of the Second War. The massive losses from the war, mainly thru the casualties on Earth from the fall from orbit of Junius 7 and the destruction of several PLANTs from Blue Cosmos leader Lord Djibril's mad attack on the Coordinator homeland, left both sides weary of fighting and seeking a peaceful end to conflict.

The Orb Union, with the help of the Kingdom of Scandinavia, spearheaded the efforts to get all sides to the negotiating table. It was an ironic position for the small yet powerfully influential nation – Orb was the victim of both sides in the two wars: the Earth Alliance invaded and occupied the archipelago in the first, while the PLANTs attacked them while hunting for the renegade LOGOS leader Lord Djibril in the second. Orb played a vital role in the ending of both wars, being a primary member of the enigmatic Terminal. So it seemed to all parties involved that the Orb Union would be the main voice in the Peace Conference, with Scandinavia offering support and a place to hold the affair as another foremost neutral state.

With these conditions the PLANTs was readily accepting, as they were embarrassed by the actions of their former Chairman in the latter stages of the second war. The Earth Alliance was reluctant at first, but the massive defeat of their forces at Daedalus and Althea put them in no real position to argue otherwise.

After months and months of dragging diplomatic activity between the factions, they all agreed to finally sign the peace treaty at Oslo, since the Kingdom of Scandinavia was the only power not to involve itself directly in the war, and such was in the best position to mediate between the factions. And now that they have the Treaty behind them, the real work of peace and reconstruction was about to begin.

But that doesn't mean they couldn't party first.

_If you call a boring state dinner, filled with dirty old men, crabby old women and stiff-necked courtiers a party._ Cagalli thought wickedly as he continued down the line, with her hand in the elbow of Councilman Barton Omura.

Barton Omura was an old friend, of the same age of his father and served as one of Lord Uzumi's trusted advisors. Omura was fortunate to have been in Oslo at the time of Uzumi's death in the EA's invasion of Orb in the first war, but lost his brother who died at Lord Uzumi's side. A medical doctor by profession, he was called to see to the welfare of refugees who evacuated Orb after the invasion, and assume his brother's position at the end of the first war, and was still serving at the present. He supported Cagalli's escape to Scandinavia after her nearly disastrous aborted wedding to Yuna Seiran, and continued to support her when she returned with the Terminal warship _Archangel_ to lead Orb against ZAFT invaders. Cagalli relied on the old man's wisdom, and Uncle Bart's advice in matters of state was always well thought and received.

It wasn't that Cagalli didn't appreciate Omura's company during that evening. He was a great help all through out the negotiations, and was very involved in the final meetings in the conference before the signing, which lessened the burden for Cagalli. But she felt she'd rather have _someone else_ to be seen together with in this moment of success and accomplishment for her - _someone_ _quiet yet strong, with dark blue hair and beautiful green eyes_.

_Oh God, how I miss Athrun!_

"The Chief Representative of the Orb Union, Her Highness the Princess Cagalli Yula Athha, and Councilman Barton Omura of the Orb Union," the Lord Chamberlain introduced them, waking Cagalli from her reverie. She found herself in front of the King and Queen. She immediately curtsied before them, and the King kissed her hand. "Good evening to you, Princess. You seem to be deep in thought tonight," Haakon said, smiling friendlily.

With cheeks slightly red, Cagalli tilted her head down. "Forgive me Your Majesty, if I seem far away." Omura chuckled, adding more to Cagalli's embarrassment.

The king and queen were still smiling. "Not to worry my dear. Tonight I wish that you would put your cares away, and enjoy the evening. I insist. My wife, Isadora," the king indicating the queen, "has personally supervised the preparation of tonight's fare. It is in honor of tonight's occasion. We have so much to celebrate about. The fruits of our work are starting to blossom and ripen."

Cagalli smiled back. "It was only thru your kindness to mediate the conference that we were successful, Your Majesty. Had you not given your support, peace would not have come tonight." Cagalli curtsied once more. "I personally thank you for the support you give me, even when you put the safety of the Kingdom at risk to harbor me when I came here from Orb with the _Archangel_. It is a debt I owe and would honor all my life."

Haakon slowly shook his head. "No debt stands between Orb and my kingdom. When you came here with the _Archangel_ seeking protection the kingdom knew we had to give it. You were the only ones who knew and understood the truth of the war, and so you needed to be kept safe so that you could reveal and protect that truth. The Kingdom is honored to have protected you."

The king gestured to the main hall. "Now Princess, please enter my humble hall and enjoy the evening's festivities. This evening is your triumph, the triumph of peace and the end to the sadness of war."

The evening was moving along smoothly. The dinner was delicious, exquisite but not extravagant. Cagalli sat with the king and queen, as befitting a head of state. She sat beside him, in honor for her role in the success of the Peace Conference. Conversation was light and polite, with subjects staying away from politics. Though still awkward with her dress, Cagalli tried to socialize comfortably, and was reasonably proud of herself for her accomplishments that evening before the dancing began.

The dances were waltzes, to the music of the great classical masters of the 17th and 18th century. Cagalli never really wanted to dance, but again protocol and politeness demanded her too. She was paired up with the King's youngest son, a scared looking boy of fifteen. He seemed a lot more terrified of who his partner was than dancing. Cagalli endured through this, actually _leading_ the waltz for two pieces, until a gloved hand tapped the young prince's shoulder to cut in. "May I have this dance," a voice said, in a soft but mischievous way.

The interloper was bowing to them. The straight pageboy cut of his white hair covering his face. Even though Cagalli didn't really consider him a close friend, she instantly recognized who the young man in the white ZAFT officer's uniform was. "Yzak?"

Yzak Joule stood up straight, his handsome yet fierce looking face intimidating even the young Scandinavian royal. The young prince gulped and nodded, and looked for an avenue of retreat away from the tough looking Coordinator. Yzak grinned with satisfaction, as he took the prince's place and began waltzing with Cagalli. "I always love to scare pompous young royals." The young Coordinator faced Cagalli. "Fancy seeing you _dancing_, Princess, though I thoroughly disagree with your taste in dance partners."

Cagalli's eyebrows were locking together. "Still haven't changed huh, Joule? Still the hard-assed, pain in the…"

"Yeah, yeah, I get your point." Yzak waved off Cagalli's comment. "And what about you - why are you here without your _bodyguard_?"

"You mean Athrun? Well…" Cagalli hesitated, not so comfortable with the topic. "He's off… somewhere," she replied, looking away.

Yzak didn't say anything, nor press her for details. He spoke a few moments later. "I'm with Chairwoman Westenfluss," he indicated at the tall and beautiful mustard blonde-haired PLANT leader, "as a member of the Supreme Council. I'll be reassuming the seat I vacated prior to the start of the Second War."

"That's great news, Yzak," Cagalli said offhandedly, looking over at the PLANT Chairwoman and her party. She noticed the beautiful red-haired girl in the red officer's uniform, who was watching them intently. "Who's the girl standing to the right of the Chairwoman?"

It was Yzak's turn to have his eyebrows lock together. "Oh, you mean _her_. Shiho Hanenfuss. She's on my staff. She was Dearka's replacement in the La Crueset and Joule Teams in the first war, and served with me and Dearka during the second, and now with me as my staff in the Council," Yzak snorted. "I don't like working with her. Not that I had much of a choice"

_Hmm. That's sounds interesting_. Cagalli thought. An evilly mischievous idea sprang from her mind. "Sounds like you _like_ her, Yzak. It seems like she's watching us. Maybe _you_ could ask _her_ to dance. I wouldn't mind," she said, deadpan.

"That bastard Athrun's infected you with idiocy, Athha. Didn't I just say that I didn't like her?" Yzak retorted, his legendary temper growing.

Cagalli knew she was winning this battle. "Oh come now. Don't be stupid." She dragged Yzak away from the dance floor and headed for the girl. Before Yzak could say anything they were in front of her.

Cagalli reached out her hand towards the girl. "Shiho Hanenfuss, isn't it? Yzak was just telling me about _you_. I'm Cagalli Athha, Orb Representative and friend of Yzak's. It's a pleasure to meet you," she said, smiling.

The girl stared quizzically at Yzak, who looked like he wanted to create an international incident by strangling the Orb Princess. "It a pleasure to meet you too, Highness. Although I wouldn't want to give credit to whatever Councilman Joule told you about me," she replied, taking Cagalli's hand.

Cagalli was putting on the charms now, and Yzak couldn't do anything about it. "Ah just call me Cagalli. Friends call me that. A friend of Yzak is my friend."

Shiho chuckled. "I wouldn't call myself Yzak's friend, High-, err, Cagalli." She looked at the white haired officer, who was absolutely seething. "But I guess I can be yours - _him_ be damned," indicating Yzak.

For his part, and to save his dignity, Yzak strode away, mumbling about getting something to drink and the trouble with women. Cagalli watched as he disappeared into the bar area, before turning to Shiho and laughing. "I'm sorry about that Shiho. But I've heard from common friends that Yzak is so easy to piss off. I'm just so bored with this state dinner thing that I just had to try," she stopped, still grinning. "I needed the fun."

Shiho grinned back. "No problem, Cagalli. Anyone who could get Yzak Joule pissed-off that easily is my kind of friend."

Cagalli remembered a line from a very old movie she saw, and found it apt. "It looks like the beginning a great friendship, Shousa Hanenfuss." _Or something along that line_.

"My pleasure, Princess Cagalli of Orb," Shiho smiled. "It's good that we can all talk to one another as friends again. The war nearly took that away forever."

Cagalli nodded. "Tonight our people start anew. Coordinators and Naturals both wish to live in peace, not destroy each other," Cagalli smiled at Shiho. "Let our new friendship bring hope to better days ahead for all of us."

* * *

_**Orb International Airport**_

_**Kaguya Island**_

_**Orb Union**_

_**December 17, CE 74**_

Athrun Zala stepped off the passenger's concourse into the main area of Orb's International Airport. He took off his gray jacket and slung it over his right shoulder. He didn't have anything with him save the overnight bad slung on his other shoulder. So he didn't need to wait for any other luggage from his failed trip to bring Shinn back.

He was still confused and frustrated that Shinn didn't accept his offer, and left Germany feeling disappointed. He thought he could get to Shinn, get him to see his point and embrace it. But like in the war he was a failure. He blamed himself as much as he blamed Shinn for being so stubborn and consumed with hatred.

Athrun felt the surge loneliness as he stepped out into the driveway of the airport. The early-morning sun was brightly shining, the warm climate soothing the Central Pacific island-state in this cool mid-December day. But the bright sun didn't cheer up his bleakness inside. He longed for a certain blonde woman to meet and greet him with a hug and a kiss, happy that he was back, even though he had failed in his mission.

Not that it was easy for that certain woman to do that, being the leader of this small but powerful nation of the Orb Union. Responsibilities of leadership stemming from the post-war and this new peace took her further away from him even more often than not, and the distance and time between them was constantly tearing them apart.

Not that it would have mattered to him, being (according to close friends – Athrun not being one to think about frivolous vanities) a handsome man with many opportunities for companionship with the opposite sex. His best friend Kira jokingly told him that he, Athrun Zala, had the knack for getting the girl, as past experience showed. He had to propensity to "attract fan-girls" and probably "form a harem", as Kira would describe it with a grin, in their more innocent days as students in Copernicus before the Bloody Valentine Wars. Up to know girls seemed to be attracted to him easily, and this time Kira was dropping vague hints about him and Meyrin. Athrun ruthlessly suppressed Kira's ideas, and threatened to pummel him if he said that again, Ultimate Coordinator or not. Or maybe have Lacus drag Kira on another shopping trip. Meyrin was a just a friend, and Athrun would not want her bothered by getting teased.

Athrun didn't want anyone else to be with him. Cagalli was his life. Only Cagalli can make him happy. Though he once cared for Lacus, being his fiancée via an arranged engagement by their parents, he never felt as much as he felt for Cagalli with Lacus. He knew that Kira knew this too, and his friend said that he's happy that Athrun cares for his sister that much, but that he'll leave Cagalli to him to work things out.

_If I only had the guts to do something about it. _

He was just waiting for a taxi with these thoughts on his mind when a hand falling on his right shoulder surprised him. With Coordinator reflexes enhanced with experience and training, he spun on his unknown attacker, right hand coming up to strike. But his hand was blocked by another one, and a golden-haired face smiled right thru his defensive stance. "Aww, c'mon now, Athrun. Is that how you treat your war comrades?"

Athrun stepped back, totally caught off-guard. "_Dearka?_"

Dearka Elsman put his arms on his side, and did a ridiculous superhero stance. The ZAFT ace was wearing a flowery yellow tropical island shirt and drawstring beach pants, with black shades covering his eyes, looking a lot like those tourists coming over to vacation on beaches of the islands. He was dragging a wheeled luggage bag, apparently arriving in the airport the same time Athrun did. "Right on the money the first time, Athrun Zala," he said, grinning roguishly. "Good to see you again, pal."

"Dammit, Dearka, don't scare me like that!" Athrun breathed. "What are you doing here - in Orb of all places?"

"Oh, this and that," Dearka answered vaguely. He indicated at his clothes. "For starters I needed a vacation - even a short one." He took in the surroundings. "I heard Orb's beaches are great this time of year - beats the cold up in the PLANTs."

He saw that Athrun wasn't buying that. "It's true, pal," Dearka said in his own defense. "I'm taking this chance to relax before I start my new job. I had to get away from Yzak's constant temper tantrums – it could get bad for one's health, you know."

Again Athrun was taken off guard. "What do you mean by your new job? Did you resign your commission _again_?"

Dearka chuckled. "_Iie_. I'm still in the military. I'm still getting my checks from ZAFT." He grinned again at Athrun. "I got myself transferred to the diplomatic service as a military attaché. And since I will be working here I'd better scout the place out, see the sights."

"Wait a minute, Dearka," Athrun said, confused. "What do you mean by _you'll_ be working here? _You're_ the new _military attaché_ in PLANT's embassy here on Orb? _You_?"

Dearka felt insulted. "Hey come on now, Athrun. Put some trust in me will you? I think I'm capable enough. Didn't we graduate together as red coats from the ZAFT Academy? Weren't we part of the elite La Crueset Team? The _Zala Team_? Terminal?"

"Okay, okay. Since you put it that way," Athrun consented, hands raised in surrender. _No point in arguing about this now._ "So you're going to be working here. That'll be great. But what made you think about doing this?"

Dearka smiled wisely. "I had to get away from it all." He shifted to a more comfortable stance. "Things were getting hectic up in the PLANTs. Yzak just got his seat in the Supreme Council back," he revealed. Athrun seemed surprised with this fact. "He got promoted again after the fiasco with Dullindal had half of the council resigning. Well, Yzak didn't actually like it. They had to drag him kicking and screaming back to Aprilius One. But Shiho put some sense into him and he gave in," Dearka laughed. "He'll be fine as long as she's around."

"Shiho Hanenfuss? The one who test piloted the GuAIZ series?"

"Yup, that's her. Yzak got stuck with her during the time we were flying with the Terminal. He says he doesn't like her and she say she doesn't like him back, but they're like _this_." Dearka held up his hand, his middle and index finger together.

"Okay." Athrun responded, somewhat in unease with talking about Yzak's private life. He changed the subject quickly. "So you're the new military attaché. Any idea who will be your immediate boss will be? I mean the ambassador. Nobody was assigned before I left for Europe. And I just got back."

This time Dearka was somewhat reluctant. "Well…"

Athrun frowned. "It's going to be public knowledge anyway, Dearka. So I guess you can tell me."

Dearka shrugged. "It's not that Athrun. It's not really classified and all. But I guess it'll just be a surprise. For you, I mean." Dearka gazed into Athrun's confused eyes. "It's Yuri Amarfi. _Nicol's dad_."

* * *

_**The Grand Hall**_

_**The Royal Palace**_

_**Oslo**_

_**Kingdom of Scandinavia**_

_**December 16, CE 74**_

Queen Isadora slid her hand into her husband's shoulder. They were sitting side by side on the royal table, watching the couples dancing to the beautiful waltzes. "It's a beautiful evening, my love," she whispered.

King Haakon nodded. "If only the beauty of the evening could last forever, all would be perfect." He looked at the night sky that peeked from a nearby open balcony. "I wish the beauty of the starlight guide the way to a bright new dawn for peace."

But darkness was falling, covering the starlight with the shadows of terror.

* * *

_**Inbound Oslo**_

_**Kingdom of Scandinavia**_

_**December 16, CE 74**_

They came burning thru the atmosphere, heat and radiation shields protecting their units from the extreme heat of reentry. The night sky and the clouds covered them from the naked eyes, as much as their mirrage colloid stealth system cloaked their units, rendering them invisible from both electronic and visual sensors. Surprise was first objective of their mission, so all efforts were done to equip their mobile suits with the banned yet formidable stealth system. Added to the multi-Mach speeds the mobile suits were diving towards their target, the unsuspecting defenders below had almost no time to react.

At ten thousand feet, they activated their electronic counter measures. The ECM signals started jamming the radar installations surrounding the city of Oslo. The small but significant military of the Kingdom of Scandinavia was on full alert that night, what with the great number of powerful world leaders now celebrating their diplomatic triumph, unsuspecting of the threat from above that was bringing down death in plenty.

The radar stations began picking up the jamming, as their screens were filled with white noise. The crews hesitated at first, before the slowly and unsurely alerted their superiors. Military officers began checking the data, and ordered patrol fighters up the sky to meet the unknown threat. But the threat remained invisible to their sensors, and the responding defenders didn't know where to find them.

Too late for the confused defenders, as the descending darkness began shedding their mirrage colloid cloaks at five thousand feet. They vectored towards the center of night-lit Oslo. Eight missiles were launched from each of the six black mobile suits, which began corkscrewing downwards towards the Royal Palace complex in the middle of the city.

* * *

_**The Grand Hall**_

_**The Royal Palace**_

_**Oslo**_

_**Kingdom of Scandinavia**_

_**December 16, CE 74**_

The first missile struck just to west of the Grand Hall, where the state dinner was. Cagalli and Shiho heard the whistling shriek of the weapon as it burned towards the ground, and reacted to get away from the balcony a split second before the first explosion hit.

A great shockwave burst into the Grand Hall, blasting the glass mirrors around the room. Shards of glass flew into the Hall, shredding fragile bodies like bullets from a shotgun. Several were killed in the first blast, and several more followed as a massive fireball spewed flames thru the balconies and doorways, where wooden doors were also cut into deadly fragments.

A second explosion rocked the main entrance of the Grand Hall, killing most of those who where trying to get out or thrown to that direction after the first shockwave. More explosions were erupting all around the Palace complex, their blasts mixing with the cries of terror and death from those caught in the inferno.

Cagalli was thrown back by the first explosion, and landed on a table that shattered from the force of her impact. Dazed and hurt, she tried to get up first, but felt pain in her chest. Cracked ribs, she thought. More explosions flashed and shook the area.

She tried to crawl away, then stopped as she saw that her dress was filling with blood - her own blood. She checked and felt a large splinter thrust into a wound on right side of her stomach, and suddenly felt the pain it was creating. She collapsed suddenly from the pain, and lost consciousness. She thought she heard a woman's voice call out to her, but soon the blackness overcame the light in her eyes.

Shiho's training kicked in as the first explosion erupted. She dove under a nearby table, trying to pull Cagalli with her. But the shockwave ripped her away, and quickly disoriented her. Shiho heard and felt splinters cracking and flying by, deadly projectiles that could kill her instantly. She hid her head under her arm, to protect her from the deadly swarm. A man's body fell on her, cracking her ribs and sending a shot of pain thru her.

She dared to look around for Cagalli. Having trouble seeing from the smoke filling the room, she shouted for the Orb Princess. She shouted a couple of times more, before she saw the blue dressed woman lying in a pool of blood. Shiho staggered over to her, and reached the wounded princess with much difficulty. She reached out to Cagalli, and saw the dreadful wound to her side. _Damn, this is bad_. "Cagalli, hang on!"

Shiho dragged Cagalli to the side of the hall, and laid her there. Shiho looked around for help but saw nothing but smoke and dead bodies. Feeling despair, the smoke adding to her agony, tears began to fall from her eyes. _Why the hell did this happen now? When we were at verge of peace!_

Before the despair took over her completely, hope sprang in the sight of white haired man struggling forward to her. His white uniform was shred to pieces, and wounds and burns were showing from his exposed body. But fierce determination and anger was not going to put this man down.

"Yzak!"

Yzak reached Shiho in a heartbeat, and embraced her, full of relief. "You're alive. Thank heavens you're alive," he said in a shaky voice.

"_Yzak_…"

Their relief and happiness was barely felt as another explosion brought the Grand Hall's ceiling down upon them.

* * *

_**Orb International Airport**_

_**Kaguya**_

_**Orb Union**_

_**December 17, CE 74**_

"Councilman Amarfi?" Athrun was taken back.

"I know, I know," Dearka said, putting his hands up this time. "It was a big surprise for me too. Dad told me when I told him I was being assigned here. Chairman Westenfluss asked Amarfi personally if he wanted the post. I don't know what she told him, but he accepted. I understand he kept himself out of the loop during the aftermath of the First War and all throughout the Second, so it's a surprise he accepted the post."

"I know Yuri Amarfi. He's an honest man." Athrun said.

"Yeah, I know. Good man, the Ambassador," Dearka agreed. "Nicol got his good nature from him, that's for sure."

Athrun remembered his green haired friend, a victim of the madness of the First War. "Nicol would have wanted this, his father working for peace."

"_Hai_," Dearka mused. He was looking at a large videoscreen, playing commercials about Orb's beaches and tourist attractions. "The weather's nice this time of year here isn't it?" he asked Athrun, changing the subject.

Athrun was grateful for the change. "Yeah, it's quite warm. The beaches are nice, but they're full with the winter vacationers."

Dearka was grinning again. "I guess I can find something else to do. Might look up Miriallia… And Kira, Lacus, Cagalli of course," Dearka covered himself quickly. He looked at the video screen again, which was now playing scenes about the Oslo Peace Conference. "Cagalli's over there right?" he indicated at the video screen.

A pang of longing flashed from his heart, Athrun looked up. "Yeah, well, she is. She's…" Athrun began, but was made speechless by the scenes of carnage he was seeing from the screen. "What the -"

Oslo was burning.

"_CAGALLI!"

* * *

_

_**Inbound Onogoro Island**_

_**Orb Union**_

_**December 16, CE 74**_

As the fires burned in Oslo, six more dark mobile suits sped at water-top level heading for Orb. They came in at the low height to avoid the Orb military's radar installations, should any of them had the ability to track even a mirrage-colloid cloaked mobile suit. They hoped the suddenness of the Oslo attack would give them an advantage with the just reacting Orb forces, as confusion should be starting at their target, the main Orb military base at Onogoro Island.

They pilots noticed that the drag of their low level flight was leaving tracks on the water's surface, that could be seen with the naked eye. But in a matter of seconds this would be irrelevant as they would be climbing to a thousand feet to begin their attack runs.

As they closed on the shores of Onogoro, they were pleased to see that the defenders of Orb had not picked them up yet. They began their climb, and settled at their prescribed flight level fifteen seconds from the shoreline. At ten seconds the six mobile suit split into two groups of three, one group heading straight for the Orb naval base, the other three banking to northeast heading for Orb City.

Ten seconds out the Onogoro group de-cloaked and fired their short-ranged missiles, which took two seconds to hit their targets. Twenty-four missiles found sixteen targets, including parked mobile suits and a naval destroyer. The surprised personnel close to the targets died in surprise as the explosive fragments ripped their bodies into shreds.

An Orb TV crew, filming a piece about the Onogoro naval base, was fortunate enough to get a live video shot of the first attack, and was now beaming the terrible assault on live television throughout the island nation.

* * *

_**Orb International Airport**_

_**Kaguya Island**_

_**Orb Union**_

_**December 17, CE 74**_

"_Frak!_" Dearka swore. "What's going on?" He scanned the live picture of the Scandinavian capital burning. "What the _hell_ is happening?" He turned to Athrun.

But Athrun was petrified with fear. He looked helplessly as he watched an aerial shot of Oslo showing the fires coming from the Palace. A missile trailed into the Grand Hall, and exploded on its roof. People scurrying like ants were trying to get away from the building, but were crushed as debris fell on them.

"Cagalli… She's in _there_… DAMN!" Athrun knelt helplessly on the ground.

Just when the two soldiers thought that this was the worst, the scene suddenly changed to a more familiar view of Onogoro, going through the same ordeal of flames and death, as a black shadow flew over an anchored warship and riddled its deck with autocannon-fire.

Dearka was pointing at the screen. "That's Onogoro Island, right? Someone's attacking it _too_? What the hell is going on?"

People were already noticing the broadcast, and a panic was beginning all around the airport. The scared men and women were scrambling around in abandon, families gathering stray members together, others desperately seeking transport to safety.

Athrun felt Dearka dragging him to his feet. "_Athrun!_ Snap out of it! We've got to do something!" But Athrun was still in the grip of terror, and did not respond. But just as he felt that all hope was lost to him, it sprang up again in the sound of a car horn blaring towards their direction. The two aces looked towards its source, and saw a dark blue convertible sports car, its hood down and racing towards them. It stopped hard right in front of them, revealing its red-haired female driver shouting out to them.

"Athrun-_san_! Quick! Get in!" Meyrin Hawke was shouting at them, her strong call belaying the fear and confusion she too was feeling at the moment.

Dearka threw his bag into and jumped on the back of the convertible without hesitation, but Athrun paused. "W-what are you doing here?" he shouted.

Meyrin looked away, but Athrun caught the faint redness that was filling her cheeks. "I knew you were arriving today. So I thought I'd fetch you, since nobody else is around."

Athrun smiled. He knew he could always count on Meyrin. "Thanks Meyrin. Sorry I shouted at you," he apologized. "Please move to the other seat. I'll drive."

Meyrin looked back at him, now in a full blush. She jumped out of the driver's seat to the one beside it, as Athrun took the wheel. He started to head along the main highway for the capital city, but saw that the traffic was getting heavy. Athrun pondered his options, the u-turned the car towards the opposite direction, away from the city towards the beachfront areas south of Kaguya.

"Where are we going, _Kanchou_?" Dearka was asking.

"Lacus' place at Angel's Point," Athrun looked back at Dearka, determination showing in his eyes. "We're gonna do _something_ about this."

* * *

_**Highway 7**_

_**Kaguya Channel**_

_**Kaguya Island**_

_**Orb Union**_

**December 17, CE 74**

The drive to the coast was uneventful, except for the cold fear they were feeling as they silently listened to the car radio as it broadcast the live news about the ongoing attack on Onogoro Island. The traffic was light, and grew lighter as they reached the outskirts of Kaguya town. The people were both frightened and well disciplined not to come during an attack, as the experience of two previous wars showed the inhabitants of Orb.

Dearka was listening intently, filtering for news about any attack on PLANT, and what happened to the world leaders caught in the inferno that was the Scandinavian Royal Palace. Athrun heard from him that Yzak and Shiho was also in Oslo, accompanying the current ZAFT Chairwoman to the Conference. Though Dearka would never admit it, Athrun knew he was worried for his best friend.

Meyrin, for her part, was white with trepidation, and had a worried look in her eyes, now glancing at Athrun once in awhile, looking for any words of encouragement or support from him. In between she tried to contact the people at Lacus' home to warn them of their sudden arrival, but to her surprise no one was answering at the estate.

But Athrun was now focused - focused on his objective. That he had to do something now to protect Orb, the land of birth of the woman so important to him, that her possible demise would shatter whatever life and sanity he had left with him. Athrun was so focused that he didn't notice that the aerial battle coming from nearby Onogoro Island had spilled over the place they were driving through.

They were currently southbound on the mile-long inter-island suspension bridge hung across the channel between Kaguya and the district where Angel's Point was. The bridge's roadway was suspended a hundred feet above the water's surface, and it was eerily absent of traffic except for their speeding sports car. So Athrun kept the speed of the car well above a hundred miles an hour, and the sound of the screaming engine drowning the distant sounds of the unnoticed battle. Until he heard Dearka's cry and saw the blonde pilot pointing to the skies above.

&

Dearka was watching the battle unfold. Three Murasames in mobile armor mode were locked in a dogfight with a black raider, five thousand feet above them. The Orb pilots were maneuvering to climb and dive while surrounding the raider, as per the standard tactics of the Orb military's advanced aerial mobile suits. Beam fire was rising from a point in the direction Athrun was driving to, in obvious support of the friendly mobile suits.

The three Murasames and the unknown friendly forces surely outnumbered and outgunned the lone raider, and in a normal would overwhelm it in due time. But Dearka saw that the clever movements and precise shots of the raider showed the great skill of its unknown pilot. He shouted at his companions and pointed at the death dance in the heavens.

The raider noticed the Murasames' maneuver and reacted accordingly. It flew towards them, all the while jinking and banking in random patterns to avoid the beam fire coming from above and below. It loosed a volley of missiles, followed by a few blasts from its beam rifle. The suddenness of the raider's counterattack, plus the deadly effectiveness of its return fire, scattered the Orb pilots.

The raider closed in on one Murasame that was separated from its wingmen. The Murasame switched from its mobile armor mode to mobile suit, and began letting loose its beam fire while flying backwards away from the raider. But the black mobile suit was faster and had the advantage of position. It blocked the beams with its cross-shaped shield, which the raider threw at the Murasame after its parry. A crimson blade of beam energy emerged from a projector in the raider's arms, ready to follow up the shield's strike.

The Orb pilot was caught unaware by the unorthodox attack, and the Murasame was struck squarely in its gut by the flying shield. Though it did not do significant damage to the Orb suit, it knocked it back and stopped its controlled maneuvering. The sudden pause proved fatal to the Orb pilot, as the raider sliced its beam saber into the Murasame's chest, cutting through the body and cockpit, killing the pilot instantly. The forward momentum of the raider's charge brought the beam through the back of the doomed Murasame, as it was sliced cleanly in half. The explosion that followed heralded the end of its death throes.

The other Murasames saw the demise of their comrade and commenced their vengeance. The First one transformed to mobile suit mode, and began peppering the raider with green beam blasts. The other continued to attack in the mobile armor form and began launching its homing missiles. It locked onto the raider, which began its evasive maneuvering. More fire from the ground came blasting skywards, but the height decreased the effectiveness of the support.

The missiles continued to follow the raider, which suddenly turned towards the first Murasame. The mobile suit juked to the left, hoping to avoid the raider's approach vector. But raider again did something unorthodox. Rather than veering off from the Murasame, it reached out and grabbed the surprised Orb mobile suit's right leg. The raider pulled hard, and swung the surprised Murasame towards the homing missiles. The Orb pilot could not react quickly enough, as four armor piercing missiles penetrated its internals and transformed the Murasame into a fireball.

Seeing the odds dramatically swinging against him, the last Murasame tried to break off from the fight, heading for the direction of Onogoro. But the raider pursued him relentlessly, and the deadly accurate fire finished the last Orb defender, the fiery wreckage plummeting from the sun-drenched sky.

Unfortunately for Dearka and his companions, the wreckage plummeted down towards the bridge as they were nearing its end.

* * *

The Murasame cut through the suspension cables of the bridge and struck the center of roadway less than ten meters behind them. Athrun saw this from his rear-view mirror as Dearka shouted and Meyrin screamed. The roadway began to wobble violently, as the sudden loss of support from the snapped cables and the sliced bridge sent the roadway lurching downwards in to the sea.

Athrun realized that at their current speed, he'll kill all of them by breaking hard, the car's velocity would send it on a tight skid and turn-turtle with a sudden loss of speed. Add to the fact that they were plummeting to a watery death with hundreds of tons of steel and concrete crashing from above them, their current options were bleak at the least.

He decided in a snap, pushing all of his force into the accelerator pedal, gunning the engine and juicing out every iota of power and speed he could drag out from the car one last time. _I've got to get across!_ He thought, as he could see the end of the bridge less than a hundred meters away. _Come on, get us through!_ The V-12 engine roared like a berserk lion, and the car made its final life-or-death dash for the end. Athrun felt triumph as the end of bridge grew in his windscreen.

But gravity won the race, as the rest of the bridge gave way. The car was caught thirty meters from the end, and began its fall with the roadway. Athrun felt Meyrin grab his arm, terror framed on her tear-streaked face. He saw a glance of Dearka falling over the side of the car, the sudden shock throwing him overboard. Athrun felt the anger of what he thought to be his final and fatal failure. _I will not die taking my friends with me!_

And die they did not. Fate or Luck smiled at them anew as a gunmetal gray hand of a mobile suit grabbed the car and stopped its descent. Again the sudden lurch shook the car, as airbags on the front seats burst forth and smothered Athrun and Meyrin. Meyrin's grip pulled at Athrun, pain shooting from his arm indicated a mild sprain at least.

Athrun felt nausea and disorientation from the violent chain of events in the last few seconds of his life, and couldn't believe he was still alive. He felt the car climbing, the descended once more at a safer, stable speed. The car rocked again as the mobile suit landed, and put the car down safely on the ground. Athrun tried to move, but was too scared or exhausted from the adrenalin rush that he left his face on the airbag.

"_Baka! Are you trying to get yourselves killed?" _an angry voice was shouting from what sounded like an amplified loudspeaker somewhere from above.

Athrun heard a thud from his back and a shriek from Meyrin. He lifted his face from the airbag and dared a peak upwards. At first the sun hurt his eyes, but he quickly adjusted and saw the shadowed silhouette that blocked the bright disc. Slowly Athrun recognized the colors, as the red and the gold of the ZAFT-designed mobile suit gave life to its awesome form. The ZGMF-X88S Gaia was kneeling right in front of the car, but was facing the sky, scanning it and sweeping with the beam rifle in search of the black raider.

Athrun now knew who their savior was, and was about to call out to him, but Meyrin beat him to it. "Waltfeld-_san_!"

Andrew Waltfeld's angry voice roared again. _"I thought better of you Zala. Didn't you see the fighting above you? What were you doing driving like on a lazy Sunday afternoon when there's a battle right on top of you?"_

Athrun was too tired and scared to argue. "We were trying to get to Angel's Point. Meyrin was calling you but you wouldn't answer,' he breathed. "Now we know why, _Shousho_." Meyrin didn't say anything as she was still stiff with fright, and still hadn't loosed her grip on Athrun's arm. The pain was still ringing, but Athrun was barely paying attention to it.

The Gaia underwent its transformation into its quadruped mode, and dropped its lift cable down to ground level. _"Get on. The raider's gone for the moment. I'll take you up to the estate."_

Athrun nodded as he freed himself from seat belt. He put his hand on Meyrin, and spoke softly. "It's all right now. We're safe, Meyrin," he looked around and noticed the damage to her car. "Sorry I thrashed your car. I promise I'll fix it later." Meyrin just nodded, and staggered as Athrun led her wobbling onto the lift cable.

The Gaia's head titled to its side. _"You might want to wake up Elsman first."_

_Dearka!_ Athrun thought with trepidation, as he turned around and saw the blonde pilot sprawled on outside of the car, bruised and cut, but alive, with a death-grip on the car's rear side panel. Athrun forgot about him in all the excitement. He pulled his friend up to sit up. "Are you okay, Dearka?"

Dearka looked at him blankly for a second, before he pushed away Athrun who fell down flat on his back. Dearka waved a fist at his friend. "Damn you Zala! I swear I'm _NEVER_ getting into a car with you again!"

* * *

The Gaia arrived on the Clyne Estate on Angel's Point after a few minutes of hard galloping along the beach. The area they came to was normally like this, bereft of bustling human habitation. Angel's Point was dominated by a three hundred meter-tall hill, ending with the lighthouse perched on cliff side facing the sea. A mansion complex stood two hundred meters below, near the end of the beach. The Gaia stopped on an open driveway bereft of cars and wide enough to accommodate the mobile suit. Athrun, Meyrin and Dearka got off the mobile suit, and headed for the house, where a blue-haired woman and some small children were waiting at the door.

"_Get to your units and meet me at Point Nova!"_ Waltfeld voice boomed for the last time before the Gaia sped off along the beach to southwest.

The three stepped through the door and dashed down the main stairway. The woman followed them. "What's going on Athrun?"

Athrun shrugged as he reached his destination, an elevator door in one corner of the lower mezzanine kitchen. "I don't know yet, Mrs. Yamato, but I fear the worst." He began typing into a keypad on the side of the door, and it swung open. He and his two companions got on. "I think its best to take the kids to the shelter, Ma'am, for their safety." Caridad Yamato nodded, and the three heard her call out to the orphans as the elevator door closed.

They got off at the hanger level, on a floor the served as the main hanger for the mobile suits hidden in the underground military complex the Terminal uses under the Clyne Estate. The complex was empty, with most of the personnel either away or in the field. The floor held two mobile suits, both inert in its cold gray colors and safely secured on their twenty-four meter tall maintenance gantries. A large blast door stood in front of the gantries, were a rail system moved them through the door for pre-launch positioning at the mobile suit launch bay.

They approached the mobile suit in the middle, before Athrun turned to his companions and spoke. "Meyrin, please go to the control center. Open of the blast doors and work the catapult for the launch bay. I'll take off first to help out Waltfeld-_san_." he paused, and smiled when he saw the worried look on the red-haired coordinator's face. "It'll be fine. I'll be careful. Help Dearka take off too then go to Mrs. Yamato and the children." Meyrin just nodded, the worry evident in her eyes, as Athrun ran to the access lift in front of his unit and began climbing up to his cockpit.

Meyrin ran back to the elevator and headed up to the split-level control room forty meters above in an upper level. Dearka, however, was still confused. "Wait a minute, Athrun. What do you mean _I'll_ take off too? How the he'll can I _fly_ without something to take off with?"

Athrun had just reached the access hatch to his cockpit. "Door to the left, gantry four," Athrun pointed to a doorway in one corner. "Meyrin will open the blast doors for you. Launch after me." Athrun dove into his unit and disappeared.

Still confused, but his heart now racing, Dearka dashed to the door and opened it. He looked around the new area of the hanger, and saw gantry four. A gigantic shroud of carbon-fiber cloth covered something equally gigantic behind it. Dearka found the release switch in the pilot's maintenance lift and pressed it. The shroud fell, revealing a sight Dearka had last saw almost three years ago.

"Whoa…"

* * *

_Generation_

_Unsubdued_

_Nuclear_

_Drive_

_Assault_

_Module_

_G.U.N.D.A.M. Complex_

Series SD100-O9 SF/IJ 01-34152 

_Z.A.F.T._

System Online 

The multi-function display showed the progress of the mobile suit's operating system. Athrun powered up the mobile suit's ultra-compact nuclear reactor, and power sourced into the suit's different systems. A check of his primary MFDs showed his primary systems at nominal. He began activating other systems, mentally running through the checklist for powering up his machine. _Primary CPU uplink, check. OS variable optimization online. Reactor core stable. Gyroscope nominal. Fire Control System, check. Head's Up Display, activated. Communications Relay online… All systems, online…_

Once in the past Athrun said that he never wanted to be back inside a cockpit. He thought he could live a life without needing to be what his father, or destiny wanted him to be - a warrior, a mobile suit pilot.

But his experience in the wars showed him that he could live and still be a warrior – as long as it was a choice that had to be taken, when the lives of loved ones and friends had to be protected; when the madness of war had to be banished.

_When justice had to be served with the freedom of choice_.

So now he was ready. He chose to be in a cockpit once more, because there were those who needed to be protected from vulture whose hatred will destroy the peace blood was spilled for once more.

Athrun activated his communications systems and linked with the control center. "Unit X-One-Niner-Alpha to control, I'm ready to go."

Meyrin's face came on in one of the MFD above his HUD. _"Roger that, X-One-Niner-Alpha. Ready for pre-launch positioning on cat-one."_ Athrun felt his mobile suit jerked as the gantry slid forward along the rails.

The blast doors opened, and the gantry moved into position in the launch bay.

"_Safety locks released. Catapult connected."_

The feet of the mobile suit landed on the catapult, and the gantry returned into the main hanger bay.

"_Blast doors securing. Heat shields deployed."_

The blast doors closed behind him, a twenty-inch thick plate of metal coated with multi-layers of heat absorbent material lifted behind his unit. Power output from the reactor increased, as additional energy was diverted for the catapult's use.

"_Launch bay doors opening. Catapult track clear."_

The camouflaged launch bay door slid down, revealing the hidden ramp the mobile suit's use to launch out of the Angel's Point hill.

"_Weight to power ratio computation, complete. Catapult power optimized. APU online."_

Athrun made one last check of his systems, and saw that all was ready.

"_Systems all green. X-One-Niner-Alpha. You are cleared for launch," _Meyrin's voice finally declared. _"Be careful, Athrun-san." _

"Roger that, Control." Like Lacus once said, he may be a warrior, but he was Athrun too. And he would find his own place in the world.

The catapult status indicator mounted on the ceiling of the launch bay indicated the he was cleared for launch.

Now Athrun felt he was in the right place. Now he could do something.

_And no one or nothing can stand in his way_.

"Athrun Zala, Infinite Justice, launching!"

* * *


	3. Phase Two

**Author's Notes:**

_I like to thank nick2951, Lady Une-chan a.k.a. Mirai, irishdragon, cherryheart, Sakurachild and Warp Ligia Obscura for your favorable reviews of the first two chapters. Special mention for Sakurachild, for her kind words in her review. I'm flattered you thought of me as one of the original writers of the Gundam SEED saga, even jokingly, but I swear to you I'm not. It's a great honor that someone thinks I am doing justice for the Gundam SEED story._

_I'm happy you appreciate my writing style, which is a mix of Tom Clancy and Michael Stackpole, two of my favorite authors, with attention to technical details an important characteristic of their works. I hope I can continue to meet your expectations as I continue this saga. I promise to do my best. Enjoy reading my next installment of Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Renaissance.

* * *

_

**Disclaimers: **

Mobile Suit Gundam SEED is owned and copyrighted to Hajime Yate, the Sotsu Agency, Sunrise and BANDAI.

Kimi wa Boku ni Niteiru is sung by See Saw.

* * *

**Phase Two: The Waltz Of The Wraith

* * *

**

_**Inbound Orb City**_

_**Orb Union **_

_**December 17, CE 74**_

The mission was going well, the pilot of the black mobile suit concluded. The suddenness and violence of their attack completely caught the Orb Defense Force unaware. The raiding team reached their primary targets almost unopposed, and the effect of their first strike was devastating. If only they could finish the rest of the mission with the same success, but the tactical reality is that the longer you linger over and the deeper you enter your enemy's territory, the stronger their defense grows.

She knew they had secondary targets to hit, the Orb government buildings and the residence of the Chief Representative on the outskirts of the city among them. She also knew that she and her teammates couldn't rely on surprise anymore, with Orb defenders from other points in the archipelago now reacting to the strike on the Onogoro naval base. She wasn't surprised to see several platoons of Orb mobile suits converging to defend the city.

She was second in command of this mission, and led the group that targeted the capital city of Orb. Her commander's group was tasked to strike at the Onogoro Naval Base, which headquartered the Orb Defense Force's command and control structure and naval forces, while she was to hit the government installations in an elaborate feint attack. The idea was to draw as many defenders to her group, since the Orb commanders will realize the threat to the civilians living in the crowded capital. They were to engage any forces moving to reinforce Onogoro, and block their attempts to link up with the beleaguered defenders. The more defenders that concentrated on them, the easier it was for her commander's group to maximize the damage to Orb's primary military base.

Her group was approaching the outskirts of the city now. They were flying low, almost at treetop level, using the terrain to mask their approach from enemy sensors and anti-air defense points. She chose this approach vector for her group so that they could fly undetected without the need to use the mirrage colloid system, thus saving valuable battery power for her attack.

However powerful mobile suits were, these giant titans of war had a huge appetite for energy consumption. The advent of mobile suit-scale beam weapons and advanced active defense systems like the mirrage colloid increased the inherent power consumption of mobile suits. The presence of thousands of Neutron Jammers left buried under the Earth from the First Bloody Valentine War made the use nuclear energy for mobile suits inefficient and nearly useless, since the N-Jammers neutralized the fission process that cycles usable energies from nuclear reactors. Since their mobile suits carried conventional energy batteries, which could only store a finite amount of usable energy and not produce anything else, she and the rest of the teams were instilled in training the importance of efficient energy use.

She could now see that most of the roads in this zone were filling up with vehicles as Orb residents attempted to escape from the urban metropolis they now fear was changing into a battlefield once more. Perched on elevated approaches to the city, ground forces backed by platoons of MBF-M1 M1 Astrays waited, scanning the sky for her team. High above were the Murasames, flying high cover combat air patrols, waiting to pounce on her group when they were detected or begun their attack.

On the northeastern horizon, a squad of Murasames broke off from the main group, and headed for Onogoro. It was a group of six in Waverider mobile armor form, flying in formation at around four thousand feet. They were definitely reinforcements, and she knew they had to be stopped. She opened a secure link to the Onogoro group. "Wraith Two to Lead. I have bandits heading you way. Going to intercept."

"Roger Two. Hold them off," her leader replied.

She then called in on her group's frequency. "Wraith Two to group. Continue to target. I'll deal with that group heading away from us. Stick to the plan. Shoot and fade. You're in charge, Robby."

"Copy that Two," her wingman answered. "Good luck."

Activating her mirrage colloid stealth system, she banked hard into the direction of the Murasame squad. Aside from making her mobile suit invisible to the naked eye, the colloid particles had the innate characteristic of bending light and radar waves away from it, thus rendering the mobile suit undetectable by current sensors. Her mobile suit accelerated in speed as it climbed to twelve thousand feet, higher than her prey. She took position a little ahead of her targets, putting the sun behind her as she began her power dive with the airspeed close to Mach three. The Murasames were still flying straight and level, a clear indication that they still had not detected her. They had their radar sweeping actively, but the mirrage colloid was rendering their scans useless.

She had them on the middle of her HUD, as she deactivated the mirrage colloid, then turning on her targeting radar and laser designators. Fifty thousand watts of electromagnetic energy was emitted by the radar in just nanoseconds, and this mass of radiation spread along the area covered by the radar's one hundred kilometer effective range. The radiation reflected on any object in its path, which included the six Murasames. Within seconds the warbling sound of target acquisition was ringing in her cockpit, as her missile targeting systems were locking on their targets

The Orb pilots too were picking up the signals of her targeting radar. The disadvantage of radar technology is while one can detect another with active radar waves, the other side would know that they were being scanned and the direction of the scanning with active radar of their own. And a missile targeting system needs the initial use of active radar. The Murasames were beginning to turn towards her, and their targeting systems also were coming online. Flares and chaff were falling out of them to confuse any missile threat that was coming to kill them.

But the tactical advantage provided by her stealthy approach and surprise was proving decisive in her favor. It gave her the initiative, and she exploited this to the full potential. "Bye-bye, butterfly!" she shouted on an open frequency of the tactical net, an open taunt upon her prey, as she thumbed down the trigger to fire her weapons the moment the audio signal of the missile homing system brayed a continuous single tone.

The shoulders and legs of her mobile suit disappeared in gray and white smoke as eight two hundred twenty millimeter short-ranged missiles rocketed out of its cradles and corkscrewed towards the surprised Murasames. They were close to two miles away, and did their best to evade the incoming weapons in the few seconds they had to dodge. But the missiles quickly closed the gap, and once more Death claimed his first victims.

Three Murasames died instantly, as the missiles found their marks. The conical-shaped points of the warheads closed into a few feet of the mobile suits, before VT proximity fuses detonated their internal loads. The explosions jarred the mobile suits as the violent forces ripped apart armor plating and internals from the doomed machines. There was no chance for them to eject, and no one escaped the fiery mass falling from the sky. In the eternal contest between Life and Death in war, Death led in this round, with a score of three.

The other three barely escaped by hard turning and active countermeasures. They were scattered by her attack, and were now trying to regroup. She didn't let them, and pressed her advantage by closing in on them, all the while delivering withering fire from her beam rifle.

Suddenly a warning signal blared from the left of her pilot's seat. Immediately she reacted, pulling back on the stick, taking her mobile suit into an aerial back flip, as two streams of green beam fire blazed past the spot where she was.

She took a quick second to check her surroundings, taking into account the need for situational awareness. She was flying over sea now, between two islands. A bridge connecting both islands was to her left, almost bereft of vehicles. She saw the Murasames to the west, using her momentary evasion to form up their wing. She looked down to direction were the beam attack came from, a point to the northeast of her. It came from a small plateau, a little ways inland from the shorefront. A red mobile suit stood there, and began firing at her again. She pushed the throttle to the maximum, and climbed hard, avoiding more deadly beams. Her targeting computer was now tagging the new threat, and was now displaying its identification on her MFD.

_ZGMF-X88S Gaia_.

_Gaia? But that's a ZAFT prototype mobile suit. Wasn't it tagged as stolen? What is it doing here?_ She wondered, until sudden realization clicked into her mind. _They're here. That's got to be the reason. Only they could have the resources to have that._

She began to assess the new threat, as she maneuvered to begin another attack on the Murasames. _The Gaia can't fly except for short thruster assisted jumps. If I can maintain altitude a higher altitude, I'll increase the distance between us and I'll be out of his range_.

The remaining Orb pilots were now in formation, and were gaining altitude and closing in on her. _Can't let that happen._ She turned towards them, decreasing range and closing in more. The Murasames were firing now, backed up by beams flying from the Gaia. She countered with high-G evasive jinks and hard turns, backed up by her own electronic countermeasures. She fired off another volley of missiles and followed up with a volley of her own rifle.

The Murasames broke formation, evading her strike. One hostile was turning into her sights, as it changed to its humanoid mobile suit form. It began to fire at her, but she blocked it with her anti-beam shield. The beam were dispersed, excess energy absorbed the special coating of the shield. She could feel her mobile suit shudder from the force of impacts on her shield, but the vibrations did not affect her flight as she continued her attack. She made a split second decision on how to tackle the Murasame up front, before she begun her attempt.

She then threw the shield at the Murasame like a shuriken, a deadly projectile with sharp edges. The shield struck the Murasame just below its cockpit, and forced it to fly uncontrolled in its reverse direction, losing altitude in the process. She activated her left hand beam saber and dove on the stunned Orb mobile suit. She flew to its left, her hand outstretched, the beam saber slicing cleanly into the Murasame. She kicked in the throttle, and the extra power took the saber through to the back of its prey, cutting the doomed Murasame in half. She climbed out just in time to avoid being caught in the explosion that swallowed her mutilated victim.

She scanned her surroundings for the other Murasames and found them two miles to the east. One had already transformed into the mobile suit form and began showering her with beams. The other was planning to flank her in the faster mobile armor mode. The second one was attempting to herd her into the fire of its wingman. Missiles sprouted out of the second one and headed for her.

The raider pilot turned her mobile suit towards the first Murasame. She closed the distance in less than five seconds. She reached out and grabbed the Murasame's leg. She pulled with all the power the she could muster and tossed the Murasame into the incoming missiles. The missiles peppered the helpless mobile suit and destroyed it in a ball of gushing flames. The last Murasame tried to escape, but she didn't allow it. She locked in into its six, and vaporized it with beam fire.

She climbed to ten thousand feet and scanned the area for any more threats. The Gaia had now disengaged from combat and was retreating in its quadruped mode in the direction of the shore. She wanted to pursue it, but realized that by doing so she was flying further away from her teammates. She vectored towards a pre-designated rendezvous point, and began flying a covering patrol pattern while waiting for her team.

Ten minutes later the rest of her team called in, saying that their group commander wanted all the raiders to rendezvous at Onogoro. Orb reinforcements, including the Gaia were now there in force. It was their time for egress, and they should regroup to withdraw.

She headed for the direction of Onogoro climbing higher to increase speed with less air drag. She could see the naval base in the distance, explosions blooming in the skies as the scenes of battle raged on. She was about to descend towards it when her warning signal started buzzing once again. She immediately scanned the skies around for the incoming threat, and was helped by her sensors as it locked in on the approaching target and framed it on her HUD.

A lone mobile suit was approaching from the southwest, at an altitude almost level to her with a speed of Mach Three. She tried to get a visual identification, but the target was too fast and was using the clouds as cover. It was maneuvering in a precise manner, closing in her in a determined approach.

She thought it was another Murasame, being the only mobile suit to fly at the speed and altitude, and turned to engage it. Another warning signaled the targeting computer's identification of the target. She glanced at the MFD to confirm the identification, and was filled with dread by the designation the computer had revealed.

_ZGMF-X19A Infinite Justice.

* * *

_

Athrun was monitoring the tactical networks as hr piloted the Justice towards Point Nova, the military codename for the Onogoro naval base. The tacnet indicated that the battle there was brutal, but the Orb forces were now regrouping and massing to counterattack. They were hampered by the raiders' mirrage colloid enhanced stealth, with hid them from view and sensors. The arrival of Andrew Waltfeld and the Gaia was turning of the tide for the defenders, as the Desert Tiger began organizing and taking command of local friendly forces. Waltfeld was orchestrating the counterattack, with the objective of surrounding and capturing some of the raiders. Athrun was racing to join the friendly forces, when he found the lone raider.

He detected the hostile mobile suit flying at fifteen thousand feet, heading for Onogoro. It did not have its mirrage colloid active, and Athrun wondered if it was damaged or the pilot was confident enough to fly without using it. That left the raider detectable by the Justice's radar, and Athrun gained valuable data about it.

It looked like a standard M1 Astray, sharing the same shape with the Orb model, except for the black paint scheme the raider used. Two rail guns were slung on both shoulders, mounted on missile launchers built into the shoulders. Two more identical missile launchers protruded from the sides of the raider's legs. The arms resembled that of the Aegis, Athrun's old mobile suit, with beam saber projector right above the hands. A beam rifle was held on the right, while the left carried a cross-shaped shield. Four dragon-like wings sprouted from a thruster backpack attached in the back.

It had the look of dangerous opponent, and it moved like one. Athrun realized he had to chance and capture the raider, and find out information from the pilot. Such information would be valuable in solving the mystery to attacks happening today. Athrun opened his comlink to an open frequency, and broadcast his demand.

* * *

"_Unidentified mobile suit, this is Taisa Athrun Zala of the Orb Defense Force. You are in violation of the Junius 7 and Oslo Treaties, for intrusion and armed actions against the sovereign state of the Orb Union. Surrender now and land. This is your final warning."_

_Athrun Zala? Isn't he the former ZAFT chairman's son?_ The raider pilot took stock of new, unexpected threat. Zala was surely a formidable pilot, in a very powerful mobile suit. She weighed her chances of winning a fight with the Justice.

According to intelligence reports the Justice was heavily armed, bristling with beam cannons, machine guns, sabers and boomerangs. The burgundy-colored mobile suit had a subflight lifter as a backpack, which it could use as both a propulsion unit and a stable firing platform. It was powered by a nuclear fission reactor protected by a Neutron Jammer Canceller, which gave it nearly limitless supply of energy for weapons and maneuvering. It was protected with Phase-shift armor technology that rendered her rail cannons and missiles nearly ineffective against it. It was also a very agile aerial mobile weapon, as evidenced by its almost undetected approach.

She checked her mobile suit's systems, and saw that the odds favored her opponent. Although she had the confidence to match the Justice pilot's flying skills, she was at a disadvantage in terms of range and firepower. Her energy was about halfway gone, and so where her expendable ammunition. She was alone against a powerful mobile suit piloted by an equally powerful pilot. And Orb reinforcements were probably on the way to back him up.

She could cloak her mobile suit with the mirrage colloid, but extended use of it would be a heavy drain on her dwindling energy supplies. Her only option now was to link up with the others, and withdraw. They've completed their mission, and should play it safe. "Sorry to disappoint you, but I have better things to do than surrender!" she replied defiantly on the tacnet, and launched away in the direction of Onogoro.

* * *

Athrun was expecting the raider's reaction. The black mobile suit was now trying to get away, pushing its speed to extreme. Athrun began his pursuit, locking in on the raider's stern. Onogoro was coming into view, and other friendly forces were now driving the rest of the raiders back. Athrun surmised the raider's objective for this phase of the battle, to get out of Orb as the pressure was bearing down on them.

The raider suddenly veered towards the ocean, flying in random patterns to throw off his fire. Other Orb forces along the coast can see the raider now, and were launching missile and anti-aircraft fire to take it down, but the wily raider was avoiding these with ease. The raider moved like a classical dancing doing a European waltz, weaving effortlessly thru the barrage. But the fancy flying slowed the raider, and Athrun closed the gap to effective weapons range. _This is my chance. If that thing activates its mirrage colloid now, I'll never be able to find it._

The Justice opened up its twin Fortis beam cannons on the lifter, dual green beams lancing out at the raider. The black mobile suit juked to its left at the last moment, as Athrun's attack missed. The raider turned upside down facing back at Athrun, and returned fire with its beam rifle. Athrun blocked one shot with his shield, while barely dodging the second that grazed the Justice's head by mere meters.

The raider launched a spread of missiles to take him out quickly, but Athrun disposed of this with raking fire from his head mounted "Sagittus" CIWS Vulcans. Athrun juked right and drew and fired the MA-M1911 beam rifle from the Justice's back hip, but the raider evaded and blocked his shots with equal ease. The two mobile suits danced its deadly aerial waltz as they traded and avoided deadly weapons fire.

Athrun pulled out his beam boomerang mounted on the Justice's MX2002 beam shield, and hurled it at his enemy. The boomerang spun hard, its curving approach aimed at the raider's flanks, energy blade blazing brightly and true across the sky. The black mobile suit turned its body in the direction of the boomerang's spin, and the boomerang flew by the raider, seemingly missing it completely. It flew several hundred meters past the raider, before it turned on its arc for its deadly return flight, but the raider again reacted quickly. A beam saber came to life in the raider's arms and it lashed out onto the boomerang.

A bright flash followed by and explosion came to being as the saber and boomerang connected. Deadly energy spewed forth in a flash, and the raider was momentarily thrown back by the violence of the explosion. With the raider out of the fight for the moment, Athrun saw his momentary advantage, and fired his Fortis cannons at his stunned enemy.

His expectation of victory was dashed as the dual beams flashed and dispersed when it struck an invisible barrier in front of the raider. The Fortis' fire dispersed in a bright flash, as the shimmering silhouette of a beam shield materialized at the point of impact, followed by the rest of the black body of another raider mobile suit.

* * *

"Are you ok, Two?"

It was Robby, her wingman. The black mobile suit was de-cloaking now, after it blocked the last attack by the Justice. Her other wingman was coming in from her right. She was relieved that they were safe, and equally relieved they came to support her. "The commander's group has just passed the shore. They're on the way out. We should too."

"Negative," she returned. "We're going to take that out," she indicated the Justice.

"But _Taichou_ said -" Robby started, but she cut her off. "I'm in charge of this flight. Form on me." She lunged at Justice once more, with her wingmen following her wake a second later.

* * *

The three black raiders bore down on Athrun, who had just recovered from the shock of the other raider's sudden appearance. He veered the Justice away from them, keeping them on his firing arcs, as he moved to get better position. But the raiders fired first, three simultaneous blasts from its beam rifles. The three beams lanced angrily at the Justice, which barrel-rolled at the last instant to get out of the away. The raiders followed up with a missile volley, and twelve of them were running hot for Athrun and the Justice. Athrun activated his Lightning Multiple Targeting System and locked on each missile, which he counter-fired with a long burst from the head-mounted Vulcans, and the ensuing explosions covered the sun and sky in darkness.

Athrun was feeling the strain of the hard, high-G flying, being unable to get into a proper pilot's suit in the urgency of the moment. He pondered his options, knowing that he had to break the raider's formation and take them one at a time. But the raiders were relentless, bursting out of the dispersing smoke and diving at Athrun with a withering barrage of beams.

His situation was getting dire, and the danger increased as a raider got to Athrun's left flank without him able to react. The raider drew its beam saber, and was thrusting it towards him. The other two were continuing to cover the attacker, not allowing Athrun the ability to return the attack by continuous green beams. All he could do was bring up his shield and pray he could block it before it was too late.

A powerful red beam of hyper impulse energy shot in front of the raider, burning through its right arm and totally disintegrating it, the following explosion ripped apart and consumed much the raider, and its smoldering remains started to fall from the sky. Athrun took the chance to strike out, his Fortis cannon striking true. Both beams hit squarely on the raider's chest area. The doomed raider disappeared as it blossomed into a furious, orange fireball.

Athrun looked down on the ground at the direction of the red fire and saw his support. "Took you long enough," he said over the communications net.

The GAT-X103 Buster stood firmly on the ground, its docked weapons forming the giant hyper impulse sniper rifle it held pointed at the sky. Excess heat was venting out of the rifle, the sun reflecting on the metallic barrel. It was tracking the raiders, preparing to volley another round of deadly impulse energy.

Dearka's face came up on one of the Justice's overhead communication displays. "Sorry for the delay, _Taichou_, but I had to update the Buster's OS for terrestrial action. And you won't believe how thick the _dust_ was in here," he smirked. "It seems like you've got a lot of dance partners. Want to share?"

He was relieved the Dearka was now there. Gratefully, Athrun nodded at his wingman. "It's time to tango."

* * *

"JACOB!" she screamed, as her wingman died in the fire that engulfed his mobile suit. The appearance of the new enemy resulted in the death of one of her team. Grief for her late friend turned to anger, and she focused her anger on the Justice.

But her wingman struck first. Screaming a war cry, Robby dove for the deck, angling for the new threat, which the computer tagged as the GAT-X103 Buster. Robby let loose with every missile he had left, and they angrily streaked towards the Buster. The Buster replied with its massive three hundred fifty millimeter gun launcher on its left hand, and the giant gun roared as shotgun-like pellets flew and scattered into the sky, slamming into the missiles and destroying them.

Seeing the situation changing desperately against her team, she fired all her weapons at the Justice but they were mostly ineffective as the red mobile suit ably dodged all her attacks. The Justice drew both of its sabers, joining them together at the pommel to form one deadly, double sided weapon. With a another barrel roll, the Justice charged at her, and before she could defend herself the Justice's beam blade slashed her mobile suit right arm off. As warning alarms came alive in her cockpit, she saw the Justice fly past her, and angled around for another attack.

She knew she was doomed, but she wouldn't die without a fight. Her remaining energy was just enough for her to escape, and she was almost out of missiles. Another attack by her would be her last and potentially suicidal.

As she began her final attack, a dark blur surround her forward viewscreen and obscured her HUD - it was Robby in the other remaining mobile suit of her team. Robby flew in front of her, coming directly between her and the Justice and blocking her from its view. The black mobile suit's left hand reached out to hers' and pushed it away. "Get out of here NOW!" Robby cried, a split second before the Justice struck his mobile suit in the center of its torso, the beam blade thrusting through the cockpit. The arms of the raider mobile suit slumped, and the limp and uncontrolled body slipped out of the beam blade. It fell from the heavens, crashing in the blue ocean below.

She screamed, as scream full of the anguish of loss, and the promise of retribution. "ROBBY!" And then she began to withdraw, heading out into the ocean, disappearing in a cloud of shimmering particles.

* * *

Athrun was breathing heavily as he watched the black raider he impaled with the Justice's saber fall. There was only one more raider left, but as he turned his attention to it, he saw it breaking away, then it vanish as it activated its stealth system. Athrun tried to scan for it, but the mirrage colloid particles masked its presence completely. Athrun contemplated if he would pursue, but he knew it was useless. And he was thoroughly exhausted from the frantic fighting. "What do you think, Dearka? Is the raider coming back?" he called out to his partner.

Dearka came on the link, looking tired as well. "I think he bugged out. He must be running on fumes and knows he doesn't stand a chance against the both of us. And we've got more Murasames coming our way." The Orb units had finished fighting in Onogoro and where sending reinforcements to them. "I think we've won this round, _Taichou_."

Athrun looked to the direction of Onogoro, smoke climbing up to sky from its burning buildings. "But we got hurt really bad." He thought of the casualties the attack caused, and he remembered the image of the burning Palace in Oslo where Cagalli was. The harsh reality of the aftermath of the raider attack was beginning to dawn upon him.

"Really bad."

* * *

_**Temporary Command Center**_

_**Orb Defense Force**_

_**Onogoro Naval Base**_

_**Onogoro Island**_

_**Orb Union**_

_**December 17, CE 74**_

They were restlessly waiting for dire news they did not want to hear. Athrun paced back and forth inside the conference room, wracked by worry and fear for someone very special in a far away land currently shrouded in terror and tragedy. He was angry at himself, frustrated by his helplessness to do something in the situation. His aching and tired body did not help his mood. He wanted to leave Orb at once and go to her, but the current situation here was still as chaotic as in Oslo, and Athrun knew he had to clear things out first. That was what Cagalli would have wanted.

He and Dearka went straight for the Onogoro Naval Base after their battle with the raiders. As they flew towards the base they saw the massive devastation the raiders had left. Seven warships were dead in the water at the docks, still burning in their wakes. Other ships, some looking battered with damage, guarded the entrance to the bay, while others look for survivors in the oil-blackened water to rescue. Search And Rescue VTOLs were flying low over the harbor, while several platoons of Murasames flew top cover patrol, looking for any other threats that may be lurking about.

Buildings were scored by weapons fire, with most of them collapsed or burned out. Several, like the main headquarters and intelligence buildings, were totally destroyed. Numerous wreckages of mobile suits and vehicles, all of them in Orb colors, lay scattered all around the devastated base. Men were scurrying around, rescuing injured personnel and taking them to ambulances or emergency triage tents. Others collected bodies and body parts of dead comrades for identification on a football field used as a temporary morgue. Crowds of civilians and nearby residents gathered at the edges of the base's perimeter, watching through the wire fence at the frantic activity going on inside. Guards backed up by M1 Astrays, linear tanks and armored personnel carriers denied entrance, as the security level for the entire Orb military was at its highest.

They landed in front of the judge advocate's general's office, the least damaged building in the base, now currently serving as a temporary command center. They were met by _Chujo_ Ledonir Kisaka, the tall North African who served as Cagalli's chief military aide and intelligence officer. He was caught in the attack, and was wounded with a long gash across his forehead, now bandaged. Bloodstains can be seen in his ragged uniform, but Kisaka found no time to change nor rest, with the fluidity of the situation. As the highest ranking officer on site to survive the attack, he took initial charge of the defense of Onogoro after the entire command staff was killed in the initial moments of the raid as six missiles struck the headquarters building, turning it into a burning heap pile of rubble and twisted metal. He held the defenders together before Andrew Waltfeld arrived with relief troops.

Kisaka led them to the conference room, where the Tiger of the Desert waited for them with several junior staff officers frantically answering phones and checking for information from laptops arrayed on the conference table. He was having his customary cup of coffee, although the circumstances forced him to take an instant one rather than his beloved brews. He filled them in the details of the fighting there, but nothing much else. No new news from Oslo was coming yet, except for the routine updates regarding the ongoing rescue operations and combat patrols from various units all over the archipelago.

They spent a good part of two hours waiting as Kisaka went back to his command post to oversee things from there. Athrun got hold of Meyrin, who had stayed in Angel's Point with Mrs. Yamato and the orphans. She said that no one from Terminal had contacted Angel's Point, and she'd update him if there were news from that end. Athrun routinely called her every half hour, but still there were no reports from Terminal agents or the _Archangel_.

Dearka, for his part got in contact with the PLANT's embassy, and asked for any information that they could share. They too, were worried for Chairman Westenfluss, but reports were slow in coming in. There were no reports of unknown ship movements between Earth and the PLANTs. However the ZAFT military was on full alert, and the _Gondwana_ battlegroup was now patrolling aggressively between the main PLANTs at L5 and L4's Armory One. Dearka explained that this was standard procedure, but didn't elaborate more. Otherwise he kept uncharacteristically quiet, waiting for news. Waltfeld and Athrun, both knowledgeable about ZAFT tactics with this situation, didn't press him for more

_He's worried about Yzak_, Athrun thought. _He's also there with Cagalli_.

Athrun was desperate and losing hope. He wanted to hit something, to let his frustrations out. But he kept himself in check, knowing that getting angry would only worsen the situation. But deep inside he felt it was his fault that Cagalli was now probably _dead_. He was supposed to be there with her, to protect. Athrun promised Kira that he'd protect her. He promised _her_ that he would protect her. He had failed twins. He had let her die.

As the sun was setting late in the afternoon Kisaka came back to the conference room. He looked in the verge of exhaustion, but the hint of relieved smile was playing in his face. He went straight for Athrun, and put a hand on his shoulder. "Cagalli's alive. They pulled her out of the rubble with Yzak Joule and another ZAFT officer. They're all safe."

Athrun felt his feet give way with relief, and slumped forward. Kisaka caught him and steadied him. "She's been hurt – I don't know how bad, but she's alive and the doctors are working on her now. Initial reports are sketchy, but they say she's going to pull through."

Athrun felt the weight of the world lift from him. Exhausted and torn apart by fear, the tears started to fall. He didn't realize until now how important that woman was to him. He wouldn't able to live on if she wasn't saved. Now worries for her current injuries were beginning to fill him, but for Cagalli he had to be strong. "Thank you, Kisaka-_sama_." He wiped the forming wetness from his eyes away and sat down. He pondered what to do next.

Dearka slapped him in the back. "I knew she'd be alright. Good thing Yzak was there. He's too damn _stubborn_ to let Death get the better of him and Cagalli."

Kisaka picked up the phone and dialed. "I'm calling Airlift Command to ready a flight to Oslo," he was telling Athrun. "Go to Cagalli and see to her. We'll take care of things down here."

Athrun nodded. Though hurt, Cagalli was safe. And he was going to see her soon. That was all that mattered for him now. Cagalli was safe.

* * *

_**Hotel Luna Meridian**_

_**Copernicus City**_

_**The Moon**_

_**December 18, CE 74**_

Lacus monitored the events in Oslo and Orb all throughout the night. She wouldn't take her eyes from the CBN live coverage, and ignored Kira's admonitions to sleep. She couldn't accept the fact that some people were starting the mad cycle of violence again, and once more people dear to her were in harm's way.

At least Athrun, Dearka and Waltfeld-_san_ were okay, after that battle they fought on Orb. The news crew was lucky and brave enough to cover the aerial battle footage of the Infinite Justice, Buster and the Gaia fighting of the black raiders. She and Kira watched in fear the fighting on the television, and were relieved when their friends won unharmed. In Kisaka-_sama's_ news conference a few hours later they saw Athrun standing at the tall general's side, and he looked tired but unhurt.

But it was Cagalli's condition that worried her. She was relieved by the news of Cagalli's rescue from the devastated Royal Palace, but fear the gripped Lacus as she waited for news of the rescue grew stronger as she heard of her friend's injuries.

It was an exhausting ordeal that she had to endure through that night. The fear and anxiety took a heavy toll on her. Normally a strong and fit young woman, the emotional stress sapped all her strength, and if not for Kira's presence, she would have collapsed to exhaustion hours ago.

But still Kira sat beside her, his strength and determination showing through his violet eyes, even though the strain of exhaustion and worry too was evident in his face. He held her close as the scenes in the live feed became too much to bear. Kira remained silent most of the night, quietly speaking only to answer her rare questions, or plead with her to turn in and sleep. But she knew that Kira wouldn't sleep even if she did. He'd stay up all night too, for under his façade of strength Kira was very afraid with what had happened and was happening to his twin sister.

He was now talking to Murrue Ramius via a secure satellite communications link thru his laptop, and they discussing something connected to the incidents. Lacus couldn't hear what exactly they were talking about, as Kira spoke in a soft voice, sitting in a far corner of the room, facing away from her.

_He doesn't want me to hear anything - probably the news wasn't good_. Kira was definitely in his protective mood. He was trying to shield her from any reality that may bring more anxiety and pain for her. Though Lacus appreciated Kira's concern and care, she didn't want to be protected that way, by having things that maybe troubling but important kept from her. Before she could go to him, Kira ended the link and walked to her.

"I've just finished talking with Murrue-_san_ and Mu-_san_. They'll be on the first shuttle out of Januarius Five and will rendezvous with us here. We'll figure out what to do when they arrive." Kira paused then spoke softly. "We'd better head back to the ship in the afternoon. There's nothing we can do for the moment but wait for news. Try to get some sleep first."

Lacus faced the video screen once more. "How can I sleep at a time like this!" she blurted out all of the sudden. She heard a gasp escape Kira's mouth, and she knew that she had wronged him. Lacus wasn't a person with an easy temper to trigger, but the stress was bringing her patience down. She didn't want to shout at him – Kira was only being concerned. With a twinge of guilt, she stood up and went out into the room's balcony.

A soft cool breeze was evident in the early morning. The moon colony was still mostly asleep, but Lacus could hear the sounds of early morning traffic coming to life. But for the moment, things looked and sounded peaceful here on Copernicus. She looked out unto the cityscape to encompass its majesty, but the breathtaking view did not help soothe her troubles. She felt scared – scared for Cagalli, scared for the world, scared for her loved ones, scared for herself.

A moment later she felt Kira's hand on her shoulder. The love she felt in his tender touch calmed her, and broke her façade of anger. "I'm sorry. It's just so frustrating, just sitting around when things are happening, and there's nothing we could do." Tears were welling under her eyes.

Kira slid his hands on her sides from her back and hugged her. "It's okay. I'm worried and frustrated too. I'm so worried about Cagalli." He kissed Lacus' long pink hair. "But I know getting angry won't get us anywhere. Cagalli's in good hands. She's strong. She'll get through this. And knowing Athrun, he's on his way now to be with her now. He'll take care of her."

Lacus turned and buried her face in Kira's chest. "I'm still scared, Kira. I'm afraid all we've sacrificed for will be in again in vain." She was sobbing now. "Why is this happening again?"

Kira hugged her closer. "I'm not sure why, Lacus." Behind her tears, Lacus peeked at his face. He was looking at the awakening city, the determined look in his eyes growing more pronounced. Lacus recognized that look – Kira was coming to terms with the realities and troubles in front of him and was mentally preparing for the fight ahead. Lacus always worried about Kira when he was this way, for she knew Kira will never back down in front of such a challenge _Was this the product of their victory over Dullindal? Was this his warning coming true? Will his warning of chaos swallow the world they knew?_

It was these thoughts that occupied Lacus' mind, her attention to it so deep that she almost didn't hear the whispered but strong words that slipped from Kira's lips.

"I promise I'll find the way to finally end this madness."

* * *

_Kimi no sugata wa boku ni niteiru  
Shizuka ni naiteru you ni mune ni hibiku_

_Nanimo shiranai hou ga shiawase to iu kedo  
Boku wa kitto manzoku shinai hazu dakara  
Utsuro ni yokotawaru yoru demo  
Boku ga eranda ima wo ikitai sore dake_

_Kimi no hayasa wa boku ni niteiru  
Adome no kikanaku naru sora ga kowaku natte  
Boku wa itsumade ganbareba ii no?  
Futari nara owaraseru koto ga dekiru

* * *

_


	4. Phase Three

**Disclaimers: **

Mobile Suit Gundam SEED is owned and copyrighted to Hajime Yate, the Sotsu Agency, Sunrise and BANDAI.

"Reason" is sung by Nami Tamaki.

* * *

**Phase Three: Images And Leavings**

* * *

_**Cosmic Era, year 74. The Second Bloody Valentine War had just ended, and Earth and the PLANTs again struggle to rebuild. The leaders of the major powers, weary of the constant conflict, their countries struggling to survive the post-war world, unite to sign another treaty for peace. But dark forces lurking in the shadows strike forth, dragging back the world to the maelstrom of chaos and ushering a renaissance of violence and tears.

* * *

**_

_All Shinn was looking for after the war was a chance for a peaceful and gentler world to live in, but the shadows that haunted his nightmares during those months nearly drove him to the edge of insanity. Though he cared for Luna and was grateful for her love and devotion, he could not reciprocate without the fear that she might earn his misplaced hatred and discussed. So he left her for Germany, the only place where he knew he can have a chance to seek out myself, being near Stellar where he laid Stellar Louisser to rest. But the peace he sought never came to him there, only the silence that didn't mute the painful memories, but amplified them with loneliness and self-pity._

- Vino Dupree, _Looking At You With_ _Enraged Eyes – Shinn Asuka In The Eyes Of A Friend

* * *

_

_**Copernicus City**_

_**The Moon**_

_**December 19, CE 74**_

Both were quiet during the ride from the spaceport to the access tunnel into docking bay twenty-three. They had exhausted all possible ideas about the terrorist attacks they could think of in their abrupt flight from Januarius Five. Mu even suggested that this was Dullindal's work - that he was alive and this was his revenge. Murrue found it incredulous even for her lover to think that way. But she knew he could be unpredictable sometimes, so she kindly and wisely contradicted him, and filed that amusing thought in the corner of her mind she stored Mu's other weird ideas.

Murrue gazed affectionately at Mu as he drove them both to the docking bay for their rendezvous with their friends. She took in the handsome features of the blond mobile suit ace, taking in all the nuances and details etched in the contours of his face. He had such strong features, looking noble and proud. He had cut his hair back to the style he used before his disappearance after the second battle of Jachin Due. Though Murrue to him that she had grown accustomed to the long dew he had, Mu was insistent that he wanted his hair shorter – it made him look younger and cleaner, and made him look more like who he really was rather than being more like Neo Lorrnoke. While Mu didn't feel shame for being someone else during the time he had amnesia, he felt the need to distance himself from who Neo was, and the actions his alter ego took that may have helped start and accelerate the last war.

But Mu's strongest feature was the scar that stretched right across his face. This imperfection just highlighted the perfection Murrue saw in his face. It gave testament to Mu's courage in battle, a war trophy worn with pride. For her, it was a reminder that Mu would take the ultimate sacrifice to protect her from harm – the scar was the reminder of the injuries Mu received when he supposedly "died" at Jachin Due, when he blocked the Dominion's positron beam with the Strike, taking the blast intended for the Archangel and saving Murrue and the crew from death. It was the truest measure of Mu's humanity - the foundation of Murrue's ever-growing love and admiration for the man.

Mu noticed her looking at her. "What? Is there something on my face?" he asked quizzically. Murrue giggled. Aside from unpredictable, Mu could also be so clueless and funny. He also didn't have the grace not to say anything, as Murrue kept mum. "Or you just can't help staring at my good looks?"

"Ask no questions and keep your mind on driving, _Taisa_," Murrue returned, still looking at him.

"You can't order me around," Mu countered. "We're of the same rank."

Murrue gave him a sweet smile. "But I command the ship. And if you don't like that you could always _walk_ all the way back to Earth."

Mu puckered up his mouth and made wet noises that earned him a hard pinch on his shoulder. "Owww. That's not nice, love." Mu rubbed his right shoulder with his left hand. "Never argue with a beautiful woman who is also a starship captain," he relented.

"You've got that right, mister," Murrue said with a satisfied nod. "Do that kissing-thingy again in public and I'll put you down for sexual harassment again."

Mu feigned a surprised look. "_Public?_ Its just the two of us," he explained, waving a free hand around.

But Murrue held her ground. "We're on the road, dummy. People in other cars could see us."

Mu chuckled then stared deep into her eyes. "Can I do it when we're alone?"

Murrue looked away, redness appearing in her cheeks. "We'll see."

* * *

They reached the access tunnel a few minutes later. Mu drove unto its interior, and soon reached its end. The tunnel opened into a large chamber three thousand meters long and six hundred meters wide, framed by lights mounted on the ceiling five hundred meters high. A giant shape loomed to one corner of the chamber, her white and red paint scheme of the laminated armor reflecting the lights above. The assault mobile suit carrier _Archangel_ sat proudly while maintenance crews were completing last-minute preparations for launch.

Murrue looked fondly at the ship that changed her life, a sturdy survivor of the hardest fighting of the wars. _Archangel_'s tail wings curved like a graceful swan in water, the Valiant rail cannons retracted and dock in its internal mounts. The two main wings stretched over a hundred meters on both sides, giving the ship the incredible lift capability to allow her to fly. Her six main thrusters were inert; scorch marks from the heat of the engines exhaust scoring its sides. The command tower stood proudly in its center, the bridge area flanked by and array of sensors and communications antenna.

Positioned forward were the "legs" of the ship - two parallel structures the served as the core of _Archangel's_ military power. The bent "knees" opened up into the launch bays of the mobile suits, with a 225cm Gottfried beam turret mounted on each of its top. The primary weapons of the _Archangel_, the twin Lohengrin positron cannons, were hidden, one each for the lower parts of the "legs". Numerous missile launchers and defensive turrets were spread all throughout _Archangel_, also hidden in protected internal mounts. She indeed was a formidable fortress, a true avatar of war.

But to Murrue and her crewmates, _Archangel_ was also their home. She gave them security and safety in times of trouble, and even in the worst of scenarios she never let them down. Murrue owed a lot to _Archangel_, and she reciprocates by being a responsible and wise captain for her.

Mu picked up a two-way radio and spoke into it. "Archangel Two-Actual to Archangel. I'm with Archangel-Actual1. We're coming in."

"Roger that, Archangel-Two. Welcome back, _Taisa_," a voice replied, as the landing ramp underneath _Archangel_ appeared, slowly dropping down until it touched the docking bay's floor. Mu drove straight up the ramp, and stopped the car inside the assault carrier's bottom deck. Mu and Murrue got out of the car, as the ramp was coming up, and went to the two people waiting to meet them.

"_Taisa_ Murrue Ramius and _Taisa_ Mu La Flaga reporting for duty," Murrue said, as she and Mu saluted Kira. "Permission to come aboard, Yamato-_Shousa__2_."

It was sort of a running joke between the _Archangel_ crewmembers and the rest of the Terminal. Kira, before leaving Orb for Copernicus after defeating the ZAFT attack during Operation Fury, was promoted to the rank of Shousa by his sister Cagalli, and given command of the ODF Second Space Fleet. The promotion came because of Kira's influential role in Cagalli's rebellion against the Orb Council of Emirs led by the Seirans. When the twins returned to Orb during Operation Fury, Kira showed his leadership by leading the defenders against ZAFT professionally and competently.

With the death of _Shousa_ Todaka with the sinking of the ODF flagship carrier _Takemikazuchi_ at Crete, there was a dearth in the ranks of high level officers with the command competence to lead the ODF's forces. Given Kira's actions, and the respect he earned from the surviving men of the _Takemikazuchi_ thaw served on board the _Archangel_, Kira was the easy choice for his sister. So Cagalli promoted him to the star rank, while promoting Athrun to full colonel. But Kira never warmed to the formal protocols of the rank, and was easily embarrassed when it comes to answer lower-ranking officers' salutes – especially when it came to Murrue and Mu, and other members in their clique.

As expected, Kira awkwardly returned her gestured. "Permission granted. Welcome back," he replied with a smile.

Murrue was met by Lacus' embrace while Mu shook Kira's proffered hand. Murrue felt Lacus tremble, and looked to Kira, who gave her a knowing frown. Mentally deciding to talk to Kira about Lacus in private, she let Lacus go and motioned for the small group to head for the lift. "Any news?" Murrue began, as the lift doors closed.

Kira shrugged. "Nothing precise yet, except that Cagalli was injured pretty bad but is now in stable condition. The Scandinavian authorities are still not releasing exact details, but except for the Royal Family and President Harding of the Atlantic Federation, the other dignitaries were hurt but rescued. They found Harding's body, or what's left of it. There's still no news about the King and Queen. I'm waiting for Athrun to check in from Oslo. Nothing from Terminal though."

The group stepped off the lift at level 4 and headed for Murrue's office a few doors down. "What about things down in Orb?"

Kira waited till they entered the office. Lacus took a seat on the couch while Murrue sat in her chair. Kira and Mu remained standing. Kira indicated to Murrue the huge holoscreen mounted on the office wall. Murrue nodded, and Kira activated the screen, and brought up video and images of the Orb battle. "Kisaka-_sama_ has sent this before we got here. It showed that the raiders hit Onogoro badly, but the damage to Orb City was minimal. Casualty figures are included in the report."

"Kisaka-_sama_ says that Athrun, with Dearka's help surprisingly, took out two raiders, but Waltfeld-san and friendly forces didn't do well. The raiders maximized their advantage of their mirrage colloid technology, and that explains how they were able to penetrate Oslo so easily. Salvage crews are starting to recover and analyze the raider wreckage they found in the mainland."

Kira pressed the remote and brought up a map of the South Pacific. "The raiders all withdrew in the direction of the east on a slight southeastern vector. At first military intelligence thought it was a feint – the raiders could have cloaked and flew away any possible direction, even doubling back to hide out in the islands undetected. But electronic intelligence picked up a VHF transmission from the _Leningrad_, a ZAFT _Vosgulov_-class submarine tasked to regularly patrol the area. Orb confirmed it was the _Leningrad_, as ASW planes from the Second Guard Fleet had been tracking her for days."

"According to the intercept, the _Leningrad_ detected another submarine-type signal one hundred twenty miles to the southeast of Orb on the day of the attack. Orb intelligence first thought it was one of ZAFT's, but confirmed that of all the ZAFT submarines in the Pacific, only the _Leningrad_ was tasked for patrol in that particular sector. And ELINT3 intercepts of OMNI Enforcer communications suggest that even the EA doesn't have any submarines to task out there."

"Further intelligence we just got today indicates that sonar signal of the unknown submarine does not match any known ones in the ZAFT's database. And strangely, the unknown contact disappeared after the first active sonar hit bounced off it. The second active ping was dispersed upon contact – and then the signal vanished," Kira paused, formulating his thoughts. "It's the first time I've heard anything like that."

"You think it might be a Geschmeidig Panzer?" Mu asked.

Kira had considered that. "That's a possibility." The Geschmeidig Panzer was a derivative of mirrage colloid technology, first employed on the GAT-X252 Forbidden mobile suit and its mass produced variants, the GAT-X255 Forbidden Blue and GAT-706S Deep Forbidden of the Atlantic Federation. This system utilized mirrage colloid particles to bend energy beams away from the mobile suit, providing excellent defensive capabilities. Geschmeidig Panzer pods can be used as a underwater propulsion system by deflecting water away from a mobile suit or armor, decreasing drag in the water, increasing traveling speeds. Experts also theorized that the system could act as an active sonar-absorbing or -dispersing defense, giving submarines stealth capabilities beyond current technology.4 "It has the characteristics of one. It also matches the raiders' possession of mirrage colloid technology."

"Intel thinks that this submarine is a mobile suit carrier, and the raiders landed on it. They're pretty sure of this. There are submarine carriers in the major navies, but not with the stealth capability of the unidentified one."

"How does Intel see this?" Murrue asked, interested in the reply.

Kira frowned. "At first they thought it might be the Atlantic Federation that's behind all this. It matches the data gathered. The Atlantic Federation has mirrage colloid technology, and they have been known to apply them to their known weapons systems. And they have motive, however far-fetched it might sound, to hate Orb to attack it. They may be thinking of revenge for beating them when Murata Azrael led that failed invasion three years ago. Plus the fact that Orb revoked the alliance with them after Cagalli came back during Operation Fury. That's all Intel can give us right now."

"But that's a lot of things left unanswered, Kira," Lacus interjected, speaking for the first time.

"_Hai_. The questions are, why would the Atlantic Federation execute a complex operation of that scale to derail the peace, when they would benefit more with peace than another war?" Kira started to pace back and forth. "Their forces, except those in homeland defense, have all but been wiped out. They just don't have the assets for any offensive. Their navy was ravaged at Heaven's Base, while their space fleet was destroyed by the Requiem at Althea."

"Why would they manufacture mobile suits with banned systems like the mirrage colloid, in direct violation of the Treaties? It would be more practical for them to use their resources to rebuild their military and economic infrastructure, rather that build strike forces, especially special operation ones, with specialized units. Do they still have an independent force like that to deploy?" Kira looked at Mu, and the former Phantom Pain commander considered the question.

"It's possible. But I can't confirm it. I'd only had contact with my team, but not any other special operations teams Blue Cosmos might have had. And as for personnel, I don't know if they still have enough to man these teams. Even the Extended children," Mu said somberly, remembering Stellar and her companions, who Mu commanded with paternal care when he was Neo Lorrnoke. "From what I know they're all dead, either in battle, training or killed off when Blue Cosmos shut down their facility in Eurasia."

Mu felt his anger rise as he thought of Lord Djibril, the Blue Cosmos leader who forced those orphans and the artificially bred children into becoming ruthless warriors at a very young age, then callous tossing them aside when they weren't valuable to him anymore. "Djibril only showed me what he wanted me to see, trying to hold me in his debt for saving my life. I don't know of any other LOGOS or Blue Cosmos who trifled with the Extended, aside from him and Azrael."

"They don't have the strong support they got from LOGOS or Blue Cosmos anymore," Kira continued. "They don't get along with the Eurasians, while the Asians and Africans don't seem to like to fight anymore. Plus they're still embroiled with the revolt in the USSA."

The USSA, or the United States of South America, was the union of the sovereign republics of the South American continent. After the Bloody Valentine Incident, the South Americans banded together for mutual protection from the growing power and influence of the Atlantic Federation. They protested the Federation's handling of the war and its bullying dominance of the Earth Alliance and the OMNI Enforcer. The USSA also was accepting of Coordinators as equals to Naturals, and vehemently condemned the Atlantic Federation's violent anti-Coordinator policies.

The USSA successfully blocked any attempt to force them to join the EA, till the end of the first war. With sizable military forces freed from having to fight ZAFT, the Atlantic Federation sent military troops to forcefully annex the USSA, on the premise that it was for the benefit of the people of the USSA to join the Earth Alliance, but the USSA leaders and military were against this. The Atlantic Federation offensive captured most of its northern and southwestern territories of South America, and placed these provinces under brutal martial rule until the present day.

Only the military forces from the Brazilian territories, with its vast Amazon Jungle blocking any path for large-scale mobile operations the Atlantic Federation favored, successfully fought off the oppressors with guerrilla style tactics from the remaining USSA forces and resistance fighters. Many former EA soldiers, like mobile suit ace Edward Harrelson had left the OMNI Enforcer and joined the USSA in fighting the Atlantic Federation. Aside from them, the USSA attracted many other adventurous soldiers of fortune from the other powers, including a small number of former ZAFT troops currently working as mercenaries or volunteers. A stalemate now is in effect in the South Americas, but that could change with the current events unfolding.

Murrue took in all of what Kira said. "You're leaving out the most obvious one," she stated matter-of-factly.

"_Hai_," Kira frowned as he started on the most obvious question. "Why would the Atlantic Federation attack Oslo, when their leaders, including President Harding himself, were _there_ to participate in the Peace Conference? What do they gain by eliminating them? There isn't anyone from LOGOS or Blue Cosmos leaders left to force them to. All of them are either dead or in prison. If they were after Cagalli because of her position as Orb's leader, why do it there and not hit her as a lone target?"

"What about ZAFT? Or the other powers?" Mu asked the next question.

Kira shrugged. "There is no viable reason for ZAFT to gain anything from this attack. There isn't much about them from Orb Intelligence or Terminal, but there are a few things that are obvious. They're also trying to rebuild, and to clean their reputation after what Dullindal almost did. Plus Chairman Westenfluss was also in Oslo. I don't see her as another Dullindal, putting on a show by risking her life by being in a place she'd know was going to be attacked. Although I could be _wrong_ and I've been wrong before," Kira added. "The same goes for the Eurasians. What do they gain from their leaders' deaths?" Kira bowed his head. "There are just too many unknowns in all of this."

Murrue sighed. Kira was right. _There were just too many unknowns_.

"We know this much," Mu spoke once more. "We have an organized group with very advanced technology and great resources out to damage the peace. And they've showed that they are ready to do it at any cost." Mu looked Kira straight in the eye. "That makes it a threat." Kira agreed.

Murrue saw Mu frown. "What can we do about it?" he asked. "Did Kisaka-_sama_ have any instructions for us?"

Kira looked at the map once more. "Kisaka-_sama_ thinks that all of this has a connection with what is happening here," he indicated the Pacific coastline of South America. "That's the general direction the unknown sub must have gone to. They could land anywhere in South America, and be safe from detection. The continent's too chaotic for an effective law enforcement and security forces, making it a good spot to hide a covert force." "

"From what he heard from his time masquerading as an officer in the South African Union, the Atlantic Federation may have set up bases here in the Argentine sector, probably some hidden ones in the Andes. These included several factories of weapons, which could be used to manufacture those black mobile suits. Kisaka-_sama_ couldn't confirm the information because the Atlantic Federation did not trust the Africans to reveal to them anything secret."

"It's thin, but Kisaka-_sama_ thinks if we could infiltrate South America and investigate, maybe we could find something about the raiders. But like I said, this lead is very thin."

Murrue considered the options. The Orb Defense Force was not allowed by its own laws to be involved in military conflicts with others, much less start one, unless the situation was grave enough to threaten not only Orb, but the rest of humanity as well, and only if the threat was a viable one.

But it didn't mean Orb wasn't involved in covert operations like the one Kisaka was thinking off. Ledonir Kisaka was too good of an intelligence officer to not think things through all the way. Kisaka knew that only the _Archangel_ had the resources and ability to do an operation independently like this, without the need of active and more importantly, official support from the Orb Union. And Kisaka knew that _she_ knew this too. "What do you think, Kira-_kun_?"

Kira stood up straight, as serious look in his eyes. "We have to act. We have to do something. We have to stop this fire before it spreads. I won't allow anything like what happened to Cagalli happen to anyone else. This has to end," he said determinedly. "I'm ready to fight this threat to protect what we all hold dear."

Lacus was keeping her eyes on Kira, the fear evident in her face. But the look she gave him told Murrue that Lacus knew that Kira was right, and they had to act soon. "I agree with Kira," she said reluctantly.

"Alright," Murrue decided, as she sat up straight in her chair. She faced her three companions. "Let's go back to Orb and gather the rest. We'll use the time to formulate plans and get more information from intelligence. We also need to get supplies and more mobile suits." Murrue smiled at Kira. "You left _yours _in Orb, right, Kira-_kun_?"

"Uhmm, _Hai_," Kira admitted with a grin playing at edges of his lips. "I didn't think _it_ was needed. All we've got is the Akatsuki and Ikeya's Murasame platoon5." Again Lacus looked bothered by the by-play, but kept her peace.

"How about we drop by the Terminal satellite? They may know something we don't. We could get other units there," Mu suggested.

Murrue nodded assent to Mu's suggestion. "We'll do that. We'll send out word to them as soon as we leave. Any other ideas?" Nobody spoke. "Then we're settled then?"

Kira nodded first, followed slowly by Lacus. Mu gave Murrue one of his trademark roguish grins. "Like you said in the car, _you're_ the _boss_ here, Ramius-_Kanchou_," Mu said, doing a lazy salute, which lightened the serious mood. Lacus giggled, while Kira forced himself not to smile, failing miserably.

Blushing, Murrue cleared her throat. She pressed the PA button on her table. "This is the Captain. All hands, Level-two alert. Everyone to your duty stations. Prepare the _Archangel _for launch."

* * *

She sat in the captain's chair now, as Murrue watched the activity of the bridge crew. Two hours had passed since her call for launch preparations. The entire crew came alive, finishing duties and readying themselves to leave.

"All stations reports readiness, Kanchou," Lacus reported, as she sat on Archangel's communications station. "Chief Petty Officer Murdoch says that Akatsuki unit and Ikeya unit are prepped on launch bays one and two."

"Very well," Murrue acknowledged. She lifted her handset on her chair's arm. "Archangel-Actual to Akatsuki."

Mu's helmeted face came on the bridge's primary viewscreen. "Akatsuki."

"Be prepared to launch within immediately after we clear the docking bay in case of trouble," she told Mu.

Mu nodded. "Copy that Archangel-Actual. Ikeya unit will launch with me simultaneously. Gou and Issou units are on reserve at plus-five6 for launch on one and two respectively. Akatsuki out." Mu's face disappeared as he cut his link.

Murrue replaced the handset. "Mister Neumann, commence systems initialization procedures."

"Aye, _Kanchou_," Lt. Commander Arnold Neumann, the _Archangel's_ helmsman, responded from the pilot's seat. "Starting initialization process. _Archangel_ operating system, booting. Control module ready. Life support systems are functioning."

The hum of the ship's ventilation and oxygen supply network was grew steady as the room began its normal pressurization for flight.

"Combat information center online. Weapons systems online and set on safety. Fire control systems nominal," Kira reported from the weapons control station beside Neumann

"Nuclear fuel magnetic field chamber online. Pellet dispensers opened. Activating engines. Idling system nominal. Engine power at 20 and holding." The vibration on the ship increased as the nuclear reactors fed power to the main pulse thrusters.

"Sensors online. Radar set at passive at twelve percent power output," sensors officer Senior Lieutenant Dalida Lolaha Chandra II said from above Murrue.

"_Archangel_ primary systems, all green. Systems online," Neumann ended, as the pre-flight checklist was completed. Status reports on Murrue's MFD confirmed his statement.

"Port control has a message for us, _Kanchou_. Says '_Archangel_ is cleared for take off. Good luck to you all,'" Lacus reported.

"Reply to message and give them our thanks," Murrue answered. A rumbling was heard overhead as the giant blast doors sealing the docking bay opened.

The _Archangel_ shuddered as the three hundred meter long assault carrier slowly lifted off the docking bay. It rose carefully up into space and through the open exit. In seconds the ship cleared the doors and began its acceleration upwards into dark vacuum of space. "We've cleared the blast doors, _Kanchou_," Neumann reported.

"Mister Chandra?" Murrue said in the direction of the sensor station.

"Nothing on the sensors for five hundred miles except for civilian traffic coming in and out of Copernicus," was Chandra's response. The winged starship was now angling upwards and away from the docking bay, thrusters flaring brightly.

"Twenty degrees to port, all ahead three-fourths speed. Set a course for the factory satellite."

"Twenty degrees port, three-fourths speed aye," Neumann repeated the command, as he turned the wheel. The Archangel veered gently to left and increased its speed. "Course plotted in, _Kanchou_."

"Very well, Mister Neumann. Lacus-_san_, please send out an encrypted laser transmission to satellite" Murrue looked back at the lunar landscape, looking farther and farther as they traveled faster away from it. "Please tell them that the _Archangel_ is on its way."

* * *

_**PLANT Embassy**_

_**Orb City**_

_**Orb Union**_

_**December 20, CE 74**_

Dearka saluted as he entered the ambassador's office. He stood in attention in front of the Ambassador Amarfi, who just arrived to take over the embassy the day after the attacks. This was the first time for Dearka to report to his new superior, and was the first time to talk to Amarfi ever since the memorial service for his friend Nicol and other ZAFT soldiers who died in the first war.

"Ah, Dearka Elsman," Amarfi said. He stood up from his seat and answered the saluted smartly. Amarfi motioned for Dearka to sit down. "At ease, _Chusa_. Its good to see a friend of Nicol's again." Amarfi gave Dearka a warm smile. "So how are you doing, Dearka? I heard you got involved in the defense of Orb the other day with Athrun. How is he?"

Dearka relaxed. "Good to see you too, sir. Congratulations on your promotion, Ambassador. I'm doing well sir. And so it seems Athrun."

Amarfi nodded. "When I saw the Justice and Buster fighting those raiders, it was unbelievable. Even more when I heard you were in Buster." The ambassador sat back, eyes turning sad. "Nicol would have been proud of you both."

Remembering his friend, Dearka replied. "Sorry about that Ambassador. But I met Athrun in the airport as I arrived. Seems like he just got in too from Germany I think. We were talking when the raiders hit," he shook his shoulders. "Things got so fast so suddenly and there I was inside Buster," he paused, remembering the wild car ride to Angel's Point and fighting the black raiders. "Am I going to be in trouble for this, sir?"

Amarfi shook his head. "You're not in trouble, Dearka - I can assure you of that. ZAFT headquarters heard of actions, and commends you for it. There were some technical problems regarding security, but Orb has agreed to overlook them," he said, as he took a folder and handed it too Dearka.

"In fact, ZAFT command has new orders for you." Amarfi paused and looked Dearka in the eyes. You're assigned as liaison officer to the Orb Defense Force for an indefinite duration of time. You are to act as coordinator between the Orb military and ZAFT, in its joint investigation of the terror threat. You'll be promoted to full colonel at the start of your new posting, but I'm sorry to say you don't have any mobile suit unit assigned to you by ZAFT."

Dearka was feeling the shock as he read the contents of the mission orders. "I don't know what to say, Ambassador."

"I know you're surprised. But someone has to act as our representative in Orb's investigation. We were both hurt in the attack, but Orb was hurt more. So the Supreme Council has consented to allowing Orb to act first, and find out things about the attacks for us," Amarfi revealed. Politics was playing the game again, and the Supreme Council was playing its cards carefully. "ZAFT is still not in the position to operate effectively, nor can we just lash out on whoever we suspect did this."

"We were a lot more fortunate in Oslo. While Councilors Ackerman and Riggs were killed, the Chairman was hurt but saved. The same goes with your friend Yzak. Councilor Joule was badly hurt, but he managed to survive," Amarfi let this bit of information sink into Dearka, who took it quietly yet grateful his best friend survived. "We, however, are still reorganizing our assets. Intel is still sketchy, but what we gathered is very interesting. And Orb was generous enough to share their intelligence, since they know it would help a lot in solving what happened in Oslo."

"What do we know from the Oslo raid, Ambassador?"

Amarfi opened a file on his computer. "The Oslo raiders had the same modus operandi as the Orb raiders, except that they came down from space." Amarfi opened another file, showing an image of what seemed to be shooting stars coming down the heavens over Oslo. "We couldn't confirm if they went back to space after the raid, we know that that would be very dangerous for us if it were true."

"The raiders' attack was a lot quicker than the Orb one. They just launched missiles and then disappeared. Not even one Scandinavian defender detected or encountered one. And we only could confirm they were the same type of raider mobile suits from the wreckage of missiles recovered. They matched the one used by the ones that hit Orb. Other than that, we don't know anything aside from what's in the news programs."

Dearka took in everything the Ambassador said. "So I'm going to keep a watch on whatever Orb's planning to look into this mess. Is that my mission, sir?"

"_Hai_," Amarfi confirmed. "Although technically you can't work with Orb, since we don't have a standing treaty agreement or alliance with them, you'll be working with their irregular forces."

_Irregular forces_? "You mean the _Archangel_, do you, sir."

Amarfi nodded once more. "I never said a name, _Taisa_ Elsman, nor _will_ I say it. But you can add it all up in your own convenience." The ambassador sat forward. "I know much about your history with that ship – you started off fighting them along with Nicol, but circumstances changed and the situation came that you had to side with them – for the good of all involved. While ZAFT and the PLANTs will never officially sanction any action of siding with anyone connected with that vessel, we believe that it was providence for us that you had the right instincts to support the ideals pushed by those people. That ship has saved us all time and time again, and you had played a part in this. So you are the best person for this mission – one so sensitive that we cannot involve ZAFT command directly and officially."

_So this is a covert mission_. Okay I can do that. "I accept the assignment sir." Dearka stood up from his seat. "I think I should better get ready then, Ambassador."

Amarfi stood up the offer his hand. "Good luck then, Dearka. I think the Orb people can provide you with whatever else you'll need." He took out another folder and gave it to the blonde pilot. "And I think ZAFT can send you support as soon as it can. We have a unit heading for Earth right now. _They_ could operate well enough for ZAFT to bother with getting involved in this, given _their_ recent history."

* * *

_**Debris Field **_

_**Between L4 And Earth**_

_**December 20, CE 74**_

Ensign Hitomi Minamoto was nervous. She had been waiting and hiding for almost a quarter of an hour now, and the silence in her cockpit was unbearable and deafening for her. She kept her green eyes between her HUD and sensors display, now passively scanning for her enemy to come in at closer ranges. But space outside of her cockpit was filled only by more debris, mostly junk and fragments from derelict starships, old colonies and whatnot that humans discarded and now was polluting space.

The debris congregated here at this point in space, held together by the constant struggle by Earth's and the moon's gravity, which cancelled each other out here. The phenomena formed this artificial asteroid field, filled with man made cosmic bodies. It was a danger to ships traveling to and from the human colonies in space and the homeworld, and was avoided if possible at all cost by civilian interplanetary traffic.

But the debris field was also a dangerous place to have a battle, like the one Hitomi was involved in right now. The fifteen year old, black haired pilot, who had just graduated from the ZAFT Academy and suddenly thrust into this mobile suit squad with her two fellow redcoat, graduate-friends, had never experience actual maneuvers in these conditions. She did well enough in the simulated scenarios, but she was realizing real life was different from a virtual reality one designed by a supercomputer. Here death really meant death, not sudden computer shut down that left you entombed in a dark simulator pod. And death could easily come even in a live training mission like this one.

The single "eye" of Hitomi's ZGMF-1001/M Blaze ZAKU Phantom swung to its left, as she panned the mobile suit's camera in that direction. She thought she saw something, coming from a large mass of wreckage that looked like a large ore freighter that once hauled ore from the lunar mines. She was hiding her pink ZAKU in a large piece of multilevel public transportation tunnel, broken off from the remains of a derelict colony now rotting in this place. She had settled on this position for her part in the training mission, which called for her to play the role of ambusher.

The training mission called for her and her teammates Rena Ellington and Madison Chandler to survive combat with a single mobile suit, pilot by her commanding officer. The mobile suits had weapon inhibitors, which allowed the use of beam weapons at a lowered power output, which rendered them incapable of dealing damage. They also carried dummy missiles without warheads for additional weapons. The debris field dictated that the fighting will be close up and personal and her commander equipped her mobile to match the threat posed by Hitomi's side. While they outnumbered their commander three to one, they knew that their commander was an ace, a veteran of the last conflict, which pretty much made the fighting even.

The three, newbie pilots drafted up a plan of action - Rena and Hitomi where to set up two pre-planned ambush sites, using sites that maximized cover and firing arcs. Madison, her glossy-black ZGMF-2000 GOUF Ignited being the most maneuverable of the three, was to lead their commander along a course that would allow them to take her down. Rena and her yellow Blaze ZAKU Phantom would be at the first ambush point, while Hitomi held the second. If the ambush failed at Rena's position, there was still Hitomi waiting to follow up the attack. If the plan worked out, they could defeat their commander and win this exercise.

_If only the Taichou would be more cooperative and fall for our trap_. Hitomi had been listening to the tactical net, using the telemetry readings to triangulate the position of Madison's GOUF. It was complete silence in the first few minutes but voices erupted over the net when Madison was discovered by their commander. The voices became a shouting match, with Madison - usually the most quiet of their trio, continuously challenged and thrash-talked their commander, who kept quiet. This went on for two minutes, until a loud curse then silence signaled Madison's 'death'.

Hitomi took the news badly. But even more frightening was the fact that Madison was defeated before she reached Rena's position. Which meant Hitomi didn't know Rena's status, because of the radio silence. She didn't know if her remaining teammate was still in the fight or not. But to break radio silence was to reveal her position. Hitomi pondered whether to break the rule or not, and was panicking for a few seconds wondering what to do.

It was almost too late for Hitomi, as the metal frame of the collapsed tunnel was ripped apart as a fifteen-meter long anti-ship sword slash through. Debris began flying towards her ZAKU, but Hitomi had the sense to react to the sudden attack. She pushed off from the wall she was leaning on, and the ZAKU launched into space and the tip of the sword struck the place she was just standing on.

Hitomi stepped on her thruster pedal, and dodge again as a beam boomerang flew past her, nearly cleaving her right arm of her mobile suit. The sudden maneuver threw Hitomi of her bearings, making her lose sight of her enemy. She ducked behind another large wreck, and scanned her surroundings for her commander. The saw a flash to the right, and she reacted by firing three shots from the MMI-M633 beam rifle held by her ZAKU, but the beam blasts hit nothing but more debris.

Hitomi was getting frustrated with the obstacles in front of her. She didn't like being surrounded by junk and metal parts floating around, not allowing her any clean arc of fire. And she was scared that rather than hunting her prey, her prey was now hunting her. And even as she skirmished with her, she had not had a good look at her commander's mobile suit.

Hitomi decided that enough was enough. She activated her comlink, and tried to get Rena. "Hawk Four to Three. Where the hell are you?" She tried again, but there was no response from Rena. Hitomi knew she already made a mistake by activating her communications, and was not going to make another by sticking to this place.

The pink ZAKU Phantom launched into the open oblivious to any threat to it. Hitomi banked left and dove into another large wreck. She quickly flew along its length, existing in its other end. She did this several times, all the while closing in to the edge of the debris field. She could see her mother ship in the distance, waiting for the mobile suits to return from the exercise. Hitomi knew she could win the mission by escaping successfully. _I wouldn't be a good score, but didn't the instructor in the Academy say that it was to leave and live to fight another day?_

Soon Hitomi successfully maneuvered the ZAKU to the edge of the field. She was almost home free. She only had to cross the open area to the mother ship. It was then that the boom was lowered.

Two beam boomerangs raced towards her from her six o'clock position. She nearly died from the surprise, and was fractionally late in reacting. Hitomi barely blocked the first boomerang with her shield, but the second struck her left leg, leaving a large dent on its armor plate. The shock vibrated inside the ZAKU, nearly jarring Hitomi out of her pilot's seat. She tried to compensate by stepping hard on the thrusters, hoping the sudden change would stabilize her mobile suit and throw off her attacker.

Her sudden move seemed to have succeeded, as she could see her commander's mobile suit swinging the gigantic sword at nothing beneath her. Hitomi took the chance and fired her rifle, and the twin beam blasts struck the sword, leaving it damaged. Hitomi turned hard and dove at her commander, the MA-M8 beam tomahawk coming out of her ZAKU's shield and raising to strike. Hitomi screamed out her war cry, as she began her most aggressive attack.

But Hitomi's commander was ready and calmly pulled out her second beam sword. Using the damaged one to first block, then pry off the beam tomahawk, the red and white mobile suit slid the second beam saber underneath Hitomi's shield, and slammed the flat of blade onto the ZAKU's side.

The shock of the impact was of a magnitude more than the beam boomerang's hit, and it created enough force to short the battery systems of the ZAKU, forcing it to temporarily shut down. Warning signals flashed and alarms blared, as power from the main energy battery was cut. The HUD disappeared, followed by the MFDs and instrumentation lights, until only emergency system lighting remained. Her weapons systems malfunctioned, and propulsion was nearly dead.

Hitomi's head hurt, as she struck her helmet onto the backrest of the seat from the impact. She shook away the dizziness, but it took her awhile to get back her equilibrium. Not that it mattered now. She lost the battle and now helpless, with the ZAKU dead in space.

"Are you alright, Hawk Four? Talk to me, Hawk Four!" Her commander was shouting on the comlink, full of worry for her. _If there was something nice about the Taichou, she cares for our welfare a lot._ Hitomi reached out to her com switch, and opened the channel. Her _Taichou's_ face appeared on the viewscreen. "I'm okay _Taichou_. Just a little shaken, that's all."

The heads up display came back online, as auxiliary power coursed into the essential systems. Hitomi could now see the _Taichou's_ mobile suit as it came into view. The ZGMF-X56SB Sword Impulse stood with its twin swords hanging downwards, not a scratch on its red and white body. It was a survivor of the last war, and one of the best mobile suit ever built. Its pilot, her team commander, was also a veteran of the war, and the last active pilot still serving on the Impulse's and Hitomi's mother ship.

"Well it's a good thing you're okay," the _Taichou_ was starting. "I was worried I was a little too hard that time. Never drag your shield with it facing the back when you attack. It left you open and I exploited it. Good work though. You managed to damage my sword. You're the only one of you girls to get a hit on me."

_I'm the only to score a hit on the Taichou!_ "ALRIGHT!" Hitomi suddenly shouted, pumping her hands in the air. She suddenly saw her _Taichou_, her somber look turning into a glare as she stared back at her. "I mean, ah… I thank you for the compliment, _Taichou_ Hawke-_sama_."

"Get back to the _Minerva_ right now! Madison and Rena are already back there. Don't worry. Unlike your _success_, they failed miserably." And the _Taichou_ cut off her link, leaving Hitomi almost crying in embarrassment and fear.

* * *

_**LHM-BB01 Minerva**_

_**Inbound Earth**_

_**December 20, CE 74**_

"That was the most idiotic excuse of a tactical training exercise I have ever seen!"_ Tai-i_ Lunamaria Hawke was angrily shouting as she glared Hitomi and her teammates. "You wouldn't have survived if that was a real battle! What made you think that dividing your force will give you an advantage? The result is unacceptable!"

Luna paused, catching her breath. She was really upset at the performance of her subordinates. Even with the tactical advantage of numbers, the three rookie pilots squandered that advantage and fell into Luna's tactics of close quarter combat. In the two months the Lady Hawks, as the team was nicknamed, was formed, Luna had tried to instill in them the importance of cooperative tactics. Dividing a force into single units was definitely not cooperative in her playbook.

She expected better from her wards, all top graduates of the most recent class from the Academy, all redcoats like her. But Luna knew that she shouldn't expect much from them this early in their careers. They were new and inexperienced in combat, but with the uncertainty of the times, Luna knew that they had to be prepared.

She wanted her new wards to work hard, to ensure that they would be the most prepared mobile suit team in the ZAFT military. Luna knew that preparation and training counted in performance. A highly trained team had a better chance of success and survival than others.

So she was being hard on her team, and that was eating at her. And Luna didn't want to do that, but the pressure was mounting on, leaving her grouchy and easily irritated just like now. She looked at each of her pilots one by one, gauging their states of mind. Luna had learned in the two months that each had a unique quirk to their characters, and she was learning to respect, at the least tolerate, each one.

The most senior of the three, Madison Chandler, age sixteen, graduated third in the class, the highest among the women cadets. Madison was tall and gangly, and the silver haired pilot was also the most silent and aloof of the three. She was even more aloof than Rey Za Burrel, her late teammate, was, in Luna's point of view. Madison was very economical in words, answering questions succinctly and precisely, and spoke only when spoken too. But in combat she was the most aggressive, as shown by the thrash talking Luna took from the normally reticent Madison. Her aggressiveness was remarkable, but also a dangerous flaw. It allowed Madison to have blind spots, weaknesses in her defenses that a clever enemy, like Luna, could exploit to defeat her.

Rena Ellington, age fifteen, was the second of the trio. Blonde haired, with a nice smile on a good looking face and a fit and alluring body, Rena was what you call a girl's girl. She was the outgoing, friendly type, easily attracting the men on the ship, and had a bevy of suitors that frequently asking her to dinner at the mess hall or leaving flowers and love letters in front of her quarters. But Rena was also a good pilot, for she wouldn't be wearing the redcoat if she weren't. But her biggest flaw was that she was sometimes self-absorbed, and not conscious of her surrounding. She was the first of the three that Luna took out in the exercise, as Rena accidentally got her ZAKU Phantom caught in stray cables, and left the rear arc open for Luna to close in for a easy kill.

But it was the last member of the trio that Luna would have been proudest off, had she not piss Luna off by celebrating so easily a defeat. Hitomi Minamoto, age fifteen, formerly from mainland Japan, Hitomi's family, all of them Coordinators, migrated to the PLANTs when the first war erupted. They settled in November Two, were they lived a comfortable life. Her brother enlisted in ZAFT and fought and died in the first war. Her brother's honorable death inspired Hitomi to try out for the Academy, and was accepted a year before the second conflict. As war erupted once more, Hitomi's class had an accelerated course, as more soldiers were being needed in the frontlines. Hitomi, with Rena and Madison, all graduated one month after the Battle of Messiah.

Hitomi was the simplest of the trio, friendly in her own way but more or less a private person. She had this childlike innocence about the world, to the point of amusingly clueless, but not as clueless as Rena was. She was also very responsible and trustworthy in serious matters, probably the most level-headed and easiest to understand among the three. She was an accomplished writer, and Luna saw some of the poems Hitomi wrote. Hitomi even kept a diary, where she wrote down her thoughts and dreams. Luna had come to like Hitomi a lot, and would have accepted her as a good friend, had rank and command responsibilities come between them.

But that wasn't the only thing that impressed Luna about Hitomi. It was her excellent sense for piloting that Luna admired from Hitomi. She could fly her ZAKU Warrior unlike any, with a grace that clearly outperformed even Shinn in piloting skills. She wasn't much of shot like Luna was, but her uncanny flying sense was something no one can teach, but was born with. Hitomi was the only one to damage her Impulse, and only by her impressive maneuvering. She would have been the saving grace for the exercise failure - had she have the mind to keep her mouth shut.

So now even Hitomi won't be saved from Luna's wrath. "For starters I want you to study the battle tapes and see where you went wrong. Next I want detailed reports about your actions in the mission. I want you to practice as a team for two hours in the morning and two hours in afternoon for the next three days in the simulator starting tomorrow. I want you to be ready when we get to Earth, and not be the laughing stock of the fleet! IS THAT CLEAR?" All three quickly nodded. "Good, you're dismissed!"

Shaking her magenta hair in frustration, Luna stormed angrily out of the pilot's ready room, leaving the three rookies, and began to head for the Captain's Quarters. She stalked off fuming, ignoring passing crewmen, even scaring a few of the newer ones. Luna was still in this foul when Abi Windsor, the _Minerva's_ CIC officer, called out to her and joined her. "Hey, Luna, you look tired, girl."

"I know," Luna replied. "I had a bad training run today. You saw it, right?"

"_Hai_. I have the records. I'm going through it later," Abi said. Abi Windsor was Luna's new best friend among the remaining crew of the _Minerva_ that served with her during the second war. Abi took over the position on the bridge that Luna's sister used to hold, after Meyrin got involved in the Athrun Zala incident at Gibraltar. At first Luna wasn't that close to Abi, thinking that she had Meyrin's post on a temporary basis, until Meyrin returned to the _Minerva_.

But the war ended and Meyrin opted to stay in Orb with Athrun and his friends, as she felt awkward to return to the PLANTs after being wrongly accused as a traitor. So Abi had the position permanently now, and Luna came into constant contact with her, since Abi was the CIC and mobile suit control officer. By the time when Luna became the team commander, she and Abi had become close friends.

And Abi was a good friend. She was there when she needed a friend, especially the time when Shinn left. That was a bad time for her. She felt empty then, the loneliness of being without someone she had come love affected her professional life. That was a time when the _Minerva_ was undergoing major refits at the dry docks, and the crew had to help in the maintenance. Crew morale was low right then, with the deaths of their respected _Taisa_ Talia Gladys and one of their ace pilots plus the other pilot's sudden resignation. Shinn's departure also saddled Luna with the position of senior mobile suit pilot, which gave her the task of rebuilding the _Minerva's_ mobile suit force.

And it wasn't easy. Some officers from the other ships and service, jealous at the _Minerva_ for being the favorite of the Chairman Dullindal, targeted the proud ship and her remaining crew with black propaganda to discredit them. While most of the accusations were untrue, the fact remained that most of the _Minerva's_ crew was handpicked by the late Chairman, who almost install a new world order based on everyone's DNA starting off by destroying Orb. So the _Minerva_ was discredited, and no senior officer wanted to become her captain. Even the replacement pilots had to be volunteers, for no one wanted to be assigned to the 'jinxed' battleship, even one with such a glorious battle record - until two months ago, when the new captain arrived.

Luna herself was tough and confident, ably ignoring critics and establishing her authority as the new mobile suit commander of the _Minerva_ despite the stories. But the new captain, whom Luna was on her way to meet, was a different story altogether.

Abi was still asking Luna some questions about the exercise before she left her to head for the bridge. "I have my shift starting now. See you at the mess hall," Abi waved as she disappeared into a corridor.

Luna stood in front of the Captain's door. She pressed the com button on the door controls and spoke. "Lunamaria Hawke reported as ordered, _Kanchou_." The door slid open, and Luna entered and saluted, standing at attention in front of the sitting ship's captain, who was sitting behind her desk, reading files from a PDA.

_Taisa_ Jane Devereux did not look up from what she was reading. "Anything you wish to report, _Tai-i_ Hawke?"

Luna sighed. The new captain was hard to please, many times stricter that Captain Glady's was. Luna started on her report, mentally preparing herself for anything Devereux would say.

Jane Devereux was a young officer and a rising star in ZAFT. At twenty-two, she was the youngest to reach the rank of _Taisa_. A no-nonsense commander, the tall, blue haired woman was a former mobile suit ace in the first war, and served as executive officer of the _Nazca_-class destroyer _Byron_ in the second. And she did all this without backing from any senior officer. In fact, a lot of the senior officers were envious of Devereux's skills, and wary that she might supercede them and take their posts. Devereux was first in line to command a _Nazca_, so the officers were surprised when she took on the position as _Minerva's_ new commanding officer instead.

Nobody wanted the job, to be fair to Devereux, because the officers didn't want to be the commander of a jinxed ship. So the slot was offered as a volunteer command, but still no one wanted to take it - except for Jane Devereux. Upon hearing that the slot was open, she immediately applied for her transfer. With no other qualified applicants, ZAFT command appointed her the new captain.

Devereux kept quiet until Luna finished her report. "I expected better from you, Lunamaria. I want an increase in performance levels from your team by the time we reach Gibraltar."

"I'll do my best, _Kanchou_," Luna promised. "The three are good pilots, with good skills. They only need to jell together better."

Devereux studied Luna carefully before speaking again. "What do you think of all this Lunamaria?"

Luna was confused. "I don't know what you mean, ma'am."

Devereux turned her back on her and looked out into space from a window. "Our sudden deployment - having the _Minerva_ sent out so soon while we're still going through training runs."

Luna pondered on the question. "The most obvious reason would be the terrorist attacks, _Kanchou_."

Devereux nodded. "But aren't you surprised that they sent us rather than anyone more suited?"

Luna didn't reply at once. Devereux saw that as a chance to post her next question. "What do you think of the jinx on this ship, _Tai-I_?

Luna was surprised. This wasn't a question she expected. "I don't believe the ship is cursed, _Kanchou_."

Devereux turned her head. "That sounds like a safe answer for you, _Tai-I_ Hawke.

Luna felt anger at the captain's statement. "No ma'am, it not - it's just the truth." Luna clenched her hands into fists. "I don't believe this ship is cursed just because of the fact the Chairman Dullindal used and trusted us a lot. We didn't get the superstar treatment in the war. We got the hardest missions and fighting, and we handled them admirably. And we took losses in process. We've done a lot more for ZAFT in the last war than any other ship in fleet There are just those who think the wrong things about us and try to discredit us." Luna stood straighter. "We will show them that they are the ones wrong."

"Admirable, Lunamaria," Devereux faced her and held her gaze. "Very admirable. I'm glad I have you under my staff."

"Thank you ma'am," Luna replied neutrally. "Will that be all, _Kanchou_?"

Devereux nodded. "_Hai_. Go get some rest _Tai-I_. We'll talk more about this in the briefing tomorrow."

Luna saluted and started to leave when Devereux called out to her. "Don't be too hard on them Lunamaria. Like you said, they're good people. They'll be ready when the time comes, I sure."

Luna looked back at her captain. "When will that be, _Kanchou_?"

"With the way things are? Very soon."

* * *

**_Lake Havelburg_**

_**Brandenburg Province**_

_**German Republic**_

_**Eurasian Federation**_

_**December 21, CE 74**_

Shinn got off his motorbike and stretched out. The road to the market in the nearby village of Havelburg and back was bumpy, and the cold snow added to the stiffness and aching of his muscles. He had to take the trip two or three time a week, to purchase foodstuffs to add to the small stock of fish he catches from the lake. Even though he didn't have a regular job now, the pension he receives as a decorated officer from ZAFT was more than enough to live comfortably, albeit spartanly. Not that he needed a lot of creature comforts.

He was getting used to this semi-hermitic lifestyle he was living for the last few months now. Not that he was anti-social - he did like to talk to the village folk when he was there. He just felt that he needed the solitude of being alone. He didn't want the hassle of relationships with people to bother right now. And life in this secluded cabin felt right for him.

Shinn entered his small home and dropped the bag of groceries in his small kitchenette. He lit the stove and tossed firewood into the small flame. He put water into a kettle and placed it above the flame. He put the meat and vegetables he got into his small fridge and walked over to his bedroom.

His laptop computer was on his small bed. It was the only direct communications link Shinn had with the outside, as he still liked to follow current events happening around the world and in space.

Shinn booted up his laptop, and opened his GalNet connection. He scanned the news, which were still headlining the events that happened a few days ago in Oslo and in Orb. He was relieved that some of the higher-ranking world leaders survived the assault that security officials were describing as coordinated terrorist attacks. Although concerned with the attack on Orb, he didn't feel any real sympathy for them.

His hatred of Orb and its so-called ideals of neutrality never left him with the end of the second war. _What can you feel when your home country is a country of liars and murderers?_ The pain of losing his family and Stellar to so-called defenders of Orb was a wound that would not heal any time soon.

He checked his email next, not that he was expecting any. It was a new account, which nobody knew. He didn't give the account to Luna or his other friends. He didn't want them writing him. He just used the account for other reasons, mainly to receive news alerts and e-publications he was subscribed too, under a different name. So he wasn't surprised to see a good amount of mail in his inbox, including the usual Spam and junk mail. He was looking over the list in his inbox when he saw one with title he never imagined he would receive.

_To: Shinn Asuka (impulsivedestinygermany.eurasiafed.galnet.earth)_

_Subject: Stellar_

There was no sender address. Shinn was stunned. _How could anyone know that this is my email address? I didn't even register my real name! And how do they know about Stellar?_ With building excitement and fear he opened the email.

The contents were empty, with not text in the body - except for an attachment.

The Charmed Masses.jpg 

By its document format, the attachment was probably a picture. He opened the file without hesitation, and looked into the picture that again will steer the next course of his roller-coaster life.

It was the picture of large city square, with a bronze statue and fountain in its center. The square looked European, with Latin influences to its architecture, as were the buildings around it. The square was filled with people, probably numbering the few thousands, converging what looked like a protest rally. A stage stood opposite the statue, and people were also there, including a person seemingly speaking to a microphone. The people were watching him, some of them carrying placards with anti-Blue Cosmos and anti-LOGOS statements. The picture was panoramic, probably shot from high ground or from one of the surrounding buildings. The picture itself was not remarkable, except for a section of it with encircled with what looked like red ink.

The encircled part showed an area near the backstage. People were milling there, bunched up together to watch the speaker. Shinn couldn't easily see any familiar face, because of the distance of the camera from that point.

Intrigued, Shinn transferred the picture to a graphics program he had installed. He opened the program and loaded up the picture. He opened the menus and found the zooming options. He zoomed in on the encircled are, and increased the magnification.

The result was blurry at best, the pixelization not that deep. But Shinn did not give up. He filtered the pixels more, adjusting colors and depth, until he found himself looking a clearer image of the encircled part, magnified over a hundred times over.

It was a picture of woman, wearing a drab gray trench coat and matching gray workman's hat, watching the speaker. She seemed normal enough, given the working-class masses that were attending the rally. Except that she had her hands outstretched, pointed at the direction of the speaker. Blonde hair was peeking from the underneath her hat.

_Blonde hair_.

Shinn zoomed in even more. He concentrated on the woman's face, which can be seen from the side. The filters gave him a clear close-up, and it revealed to Shinn a revelation that denied the realities he was still struggling to accept, giving him a spark of hope and chaos to the dreams the visited him in times of troubled rest.

It was _Stellar_.

Shinn felt his feet wobble from fright. "I can't be. She's dead! She died in my arms! This is a sick joke!"

But the image was taken only a month ago, and the filtering software could see any discrepancies in the image, making it real and not tampered. It wasn't a fake. The image was real. Stellar was really there.

Shinn was confused. _How could this be? Why would someone go to all this trouble to send me a picture with Stellar in it? How did he know of my relationship with her?_

Shinn calmed down. He sat down in front of the laptop and started to think. _I have to find out more about this. I have to find Stellar if she's alive._ Shinn sat back and rubbed his eyes. _I have to protect her - but how?_

He looked around, trying to figure out a way to solve this mystery. Then his eyes fell on the plastic envelope Athrun tried to give him. Athrun placed it on his porch before he left, and Shinn just picked it up, not knowing what to do with it.

It was ironic that Athrun's gift would be the key to his first steps in solving this new mystery in his life. It was ironic that the key would lead him back to the place he hated, and to the people he despised in both body and soul.

Shinn stood and took the envelope. He knew that his life would be changed forever again. And that he would go into darkened paths he was afraid to take.

But it was time for him to leave this place. It was time for him to act.

It was time for him to find her. Protect her once more.

"I'm coming Stellar. We'll be together again, I _swear._"

* * *

_Kotoba wo kasanete mo _

_Wakari aenai koto_

_Mada shiranakatta ne_

_Kimi dake wo dakishimetakute _

_Nakushita yume kimi wa_

_"Akiramenaide" to itta_

_Tooku hanareteru hodo ni chikaku ni kanjiteru_

_Samishisa mo tsuyosa eto kawatteku... kimi wo omottanara_

_Setsunaku mune wo sasu sore wa yume no kakera_

_Arinomama deaeteta sono kiseki mou ichido shinjite_

_I still did not realize,_

_That there are things that can't be conveyed even with words_

_My lost dreams of wanting to hold you by my side,_

_For them, you said, "Don't give up!"_

_The further we are apart _

_The nearer I feel you are._

_Even my loneliness turns into strength _

_When I think of you._

_The thing that pierces the gentle chest, _

_That's a fragment of my dream._

_Believe once more _

_In the miracle that is our chanced meeting

* * *

_

1 The suffix "–Actual" means the person itself, usually to denote officer positions in the US military When Murrue calls herself "Archangel-Actual" it refers to her as its commanding officer. Archangel Two-Actual meant that it was La Flaga speaking

2 According to articles, Kira's rank at the end of Destiny was Major General. Kira was promoted to a star-rank before the _Archangel_ left for Copernicus City, in Phase 45 of Gundam Seed Destiny.

3 ELINT – Electronic Intelligence i.e. surveillance, communications intercepts.

4 This is my non-canon speculation on how this could work as a stealth system. That's why I wrote it was "theorized" to be one. The rest concerning propulsion is official canon.

5 According to the fansubs, Ikeya is the name of commander of the three Murasames that joined the _Archangel_ after the Battle of Crete in Destiny. The other pilots' names are Gou and Issou.

6 Plus-five meant that other units will be ready for launch within five minutes after the first ones.

* * *


	5. Phase Four

**Author's Notes:**

_Again I'd like to thank those who have read or continue to read Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Renaissance. And also like to thank those who continue to review this story very favorably. Your kind words truly inspire a writer-wannabee like me to do well. A special mention for Magicalfoci for the long and satisfying review. I am honored that you guys think that I am doing my best in continuing with the Gundam SEED saga in my own words. _

_I find it easier to portray the characters in character, rather than deviating from it. I don't mean to bash those who try different but innovative ways to portray them, we all have our preferences and I respect each and every one of them. In fact I enjoy reading how people think the characters would act in non-canon stories. But I don't want to change things as much as possible. It'll make things simpler for me to write. Please forgive me for errors in grammar, because sometimes I forget to check for them._

_This will be my longest chapter yet, so enjoy it please. I based the main action sequence to one of my favorite Gundam SEED battles. I've spent more time writing this, especially the fight scenes, which I hope will be fun for you, good readers. As in the last chapter, I'll be introducing some more OCs into the storyline, and they would be within the boundaries of canon. Some characters that would be debuting will radically change the dynamics of the story, and I just hope that I could make it work. I hope you can bear with me with my slow development of the new characters, in addition to the canon ones. I don't want to rush things, and end up with large gaps in the characters' personalities to fill later on. I'll try to continue to balance their involvement within the flow of the story, but rest assured most of them will have important parts to play. _

So, until the Destiny OVA and the rumored third and last part of the Gundam SEED trilogy (Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Eternity, according to the rumor mills) comes and makes this humble fan fiction AU, enjoy my simple tale. Don't forget to keep your eyes on your energy indicators. You don't want to be caught 'Phase Shift Down' with all the action your going to get.

_SEED Mode On!

* * *

_

_**Disclaimers: **_

Mobile Suit Gundam SEED is owned and copyrighted to Hajime Yatate, the Sotsu Agency, Sunrise and BANDAI.

* * *

**Phase Four: Dreams, Wishes And Nightmares**

* * *

_**Cosmic Era, year 74. The Second Bloody Valentine War had just ended, and Earth and the PLANTs again struggle to rebuild. The leaders of the major powers, weary of the constant conflict, their countries struggling to survive the post-war world, unite to sign another treaty for peace. But dark forces lurking in the shadows strike forth, dragging back the world into the maelstrom of chaos and ushering a renaissance of violence and tears.

* * *

**_

_**Royal Hospital of Oslo**_

_**Oslo City**_

_**Kingdom of Scandinavia**_

_**December 25, CE 74**_

Cagalli silently watched as Athrun softly read to her from the novel he was reading. She was so happy he was here, even after her long absence in his life. Cagalli blamed herself that they grew apart with the responsibilities of a countries leader took most of your waking hours, especially in a state of war. Cagalli tried to make up to him, starting when Kisaka-_sama_ rescued him and Meyrin Hawke after their sudden flight from Gibraltar. Cagalli promised to herself that she would take care of him.

But ZAFT's attack on Orb derailed her plans. She had to concentrate on the defense of the homeland, and unwittingly left the care for him to Meyrin on the Archangel. This did not change when the Archangel left for Copernicus. Again Cagalli sought out Meyrin, asking her to take care of him, since she could not go with them. Athrun didn't say anything, for he understood her position then. Both of them hoped things would change when the war ended.

Unfortunate, things didn't change for them. Cagalli was caught up more in the rebuilding and peace negotiations, while Athrun toured the former frontlines with Kira and the rest, talking to people to ease the tension in the post war world. The time they spent grew lesser, and Cagalli felt that the gap between them widen immeasurably. Cagalli had accepted the fact that Fate was not kind to Athrun and her, and that whatever they were building for one another was crumbling away – until things changed that fateful night, when Death fell from the sky.

Cagalli felt lucky to be alive. She survived only because, by the stroke of fate, no large debris fell on them that proved fatal, although Yzak suffered a crushed left leg that had to be amputated. Yzak pushed Cagalli and Shiho away in safety, and bore the brunt of the falling timber.

They were lucky to be near an open doorway, so the three were rescued near the edge of the ruins of the Grand Hall. According to Shiho, who was conscious at the time, they were rushed immediately to this hospital, and Cagalli and Yzak were operated upon immediately.

Cagalli suffered badly from the piece of timber that pierced her side. She lost a lot of blood and had to be replaced. Her spleen was damaged and was removed. A large scar was left from the wound. Had rescue come not a lot sooner, she would have been dead.

Cagalli touched Athrun's arm. The blue haired pilot looked at her. "Hey."

Cagalli smiled weakly. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what?" Athrun was confused.

Tears were welling in Cagalli's eyes. "For driving you away."

Athrun took her hand into his. "It wasn't your fault, Cagalli."

"It is," Cagalli answered. "I kept myself away from you. I didn't make time for you. Yet you never said a word."

Athrun ran his finger through her hair. "We're together now, aren't we? We can make a new start, something better."

"I don't know if I can, Athrun."

Athrun bowed his head, and kept silent for moments. "Then I'll wait."

The tears were falling now. "But it may take a long time."

"I don't care, Cagalli."

Cagalli nestled his hand on her cheeks. "Promise you'll wait for me?"

"_Hai."_

"Why?" She had to ask.

But Athrun expected that question. "You know why." He was blushing. "Sorry, but you know I don't have much in a way with words."

Cagalli giggled. "I know_." I'm in love this kind, gentle, shy boy_. "But sometimes I wish you'd say it to me."

"Yeah I will, someday. Once I have the guts to say, well, you-know-what."

Cagalli looked at him, mischief playing in her face. "Athrun Zala, _my_ Coordinator prince, the heartthrob ace pilot of mobile suits, scared of a few words?"

Athrun hugged her tight. "Who said that I was a _heartthrob_?"

"Meyrin-_kun_ did," Cagalli said, feigning jealousy. "I know she likes _you_, and her sister too. You know you really _are_ an idiot," she grabbed and pulled on Athrun's nose. "You can't see when girls are swooning over you."

"I only have eyes for one stubborn girl."

Cagalli looked straight into his eyes. "Do I know her?"

"_Hai_."

But before Cagalli could ask, Athrun's cell phone began ringing. Annoyed, he excused himself, and went out of the room. He spent several minutes outside, before he came back into the room. "That was Waltfeld-_san_. He said that the _Archangel_ maybe arriving by tomorrow at the earliest. He's asking me to come back as soon as possible." Athrun seemed reluctant. "I said I'd wait for you to come home."

Cagalli smiled and held his hand. "_Iie_. Go home to Orb. You're needed there."

"But-"

Cagalli put her finger to his lips. "I'll be fine. Mana is here to take care of me. And from what you said security is so tight around me that I'll be safe from harm. Go to Orb. Protect if for me."

Athrun still didn't look convinced. "Are you sure?"

"_Hai_."

He sighed. "All right them, if you insist. But I'll come back if I'm not really needed."

"You won't need too. I might be home by next week right? Wait for me there."

Athrun hesitated then nodded his assent to her request, and turned to leave. As he was about to close the door behind him, Cagalli called out. "Athrun, I-" she started, but the words failed her. "Be careful, okay?"

Athrun smiled. "I will," he said, disappearing into the corridor beyond the hospital room door.

Cagalli watched the door silently for a long time after Athrun left, and silently said a prayer for his safety.

* * *

**_Raider Base_**

_**Location Unknown**_

_**December 25, CE 74**_

She was running across a vast open field, framed under the deep blue sky. It was flat grassland, full of flowers swaying to the cool breeze blowing from the heavens. She felt the heat of the spring sun on her skin, and the tingling sensation that excited her senses. Robby and Jacob were running far ahead of her, shouting at her to run faster. She had to catch up to them. She wont allow them leave her behind.

She ran amongst the flowers, silently looking at the beauty and fragility of each one. The colors were ever changing, as if matching the mood the beholder wishes for. She could smell their sweet fragrance, so sensual, yet so familiar. Like the rest of the vast open field. It was so familiar.

_I know this place - like I've been here before._ She looked around, struggling to remember what this place meant to her, when she saw the girl.

She stood in front a lone tree in the middle of the field. The tree was bare, a lone image of autumn's twilight in this landscape of spring's dawning. The girl wore a gray cloak, a hood covering her face. The girl was slowly waving at her, as if calling her to come near.

She ran to the girl, Robby and Jacob forgotten. The run felt like it took a lifetime, as if Faith did not wish for her to reach the girl. The grasses grew taller, hampering her run as she stumbled through the field. The pain in her chest grew, as if pleading her to stop because of weariness. But she knew she had to reach the girl.

Finally she reached her. She fell on her knees, breathing hard, exhausted from the longest run in her life. She looked up, but girl said nothing. She stared at her for another lifetime, before the girl took off her hood and dropped her cloak.

She caught her breath, amazed and frightened at the vision she was beholding. The girl looked exactly like her, she was looking at herself. The girl had the same golden hair, the same eyes, the same face. She was naked, framed in an aura that was shining, the girl's body almost perfectly matching hers. _A mirror_, she thought, _of my own self._

The girl smiled at her, a smile with a wisdom born from sacrifice. The girl reached out to her, and spoke in a voice she recognized as hers. _We've finally found you. It's been a long time._

She took a step back, fear welling from deep inside her. _What does this girl mean? Do I know her?_ "Who are you? What do you want from me?"

_We've missed you so much_, the girl said. _Onee-chan would be happy to see you. __We've all been separated far too long_.

The girl's words were confusing her, and adding to her fear. "What do you mean? Tell me!"

The girl smiled and started to float away. The sun seemed to be falling, enveloping the girl in its blinding light. _It's all right now._ _Do not fear. Someone will come for you. All will become clear when you meet him. He will help you see the rebirth of your soul. Then all will be well, and we will be together again._

"No! Don't go! Tell me who you are!" she pleaded but the light of the sun had completely blinded her, forcing her to shield her eyes with her hands, until at last to close them. She could no longer see the girl, now swallowed up by the blinding light that engulfed the world around her.

_I must open my eyes! I must see her!_

She slowly opened her eyes. The field was gone, so were her friends and the girl. All she saw were the cabin lights reflecting on the glass canopy that covered the optimization chamber she was lying in.

Solar Louisser woke up from her dream.

* * *

"Subject Louisser is awake. All of her body functions are normal. Brainwaves are optimized," the medtech reported. "Optimization process completed, Doctor Samson."

Delia Samson took a quick look at the monitor, checking the final status report on the just optimized Extended. Optimization was always delicate, since a single mistake could prove fatal to the subject being treated. This particular subject had proved more of a problem of late. The subject's last mission had put so much strain on her both physically and mentally, and had to undergo thrice as much time in the 'bubble', the name the optimization chamber was coined by her subordinates.

Apparently the trauma of her wingmen's death in combat had emotionally affected her, raising her mental and physical stress levels to dangerous heights. Louisser always had been a problem, but her superiors, like the man standing beside her, had insisted that Louisser was to be part of the strike team. So Delia didn't have much of choice but to follow her orders. But a strong-minded woman like could not be depended upon to keep her opinions to herself, and was known to share them frankly, to the irritation of other, specially the gray haired man beside her, who was the constant target for Delia's sharp remarks.

"Your girl's awake, Adam. She's perfectly fine." Delia told her companion.

The man named Adam nodded silently, as he watched Solar from the window of the split-level laboratory monitoring station above the optimization room. The blonde haired Extended sat up, and was shaking her head to rid her of the dizziness of her long slumber. Adam watched her intently, as if his purple eyes were assessing the current state of his ward. "I expect so."

Delia watched Adam, her gaze a measure of professional and personal pride of how this young man, who she knew so well, had become so strong and intelligent, but so driven with a deadly ambition that poisons his soul. "Is that all you could say? After all the emotional stress Solar went through, and all your worrying and fussing about her?"

Adam looked at her coldly. "I am not worrying or fussing. I am concerned for her safety, yes. But I am more concerned how the trauma would affect her performance. We have important things to do in the near future. And I need my pilots to be at their peak."

Delia feigned irritation. "You have no social grace whatsoever, Adam. You are as rude and impolite as ever. You never listened to what I told you. You even forgot to get me a Christmas present," she said sarcastically

A monitor came to life and a female communications tech's face appeared and started speaking. "Excuse me _Taichou_, but we've just received a coded transmission from the _Enforcer_. It reads '_The seraph is falling from Heaven._'"

"Very well, lieutenant. Reply, "Message received. Send her to the Abyss.' Confirm then report to me. Update me regularly," Adam commanded. He turned off the link and placed his hands on his back. "They're coming. And if the _Enforcer_ can destroy them, _victory_ would be my gift to you, _mother_."

* * *

_**Observation Deck**_

_**Archangel**_

_**Inbound Earth**_

_**December 25, CE 74**_

He found her here in this dark and silent place. Lacus floated by the large viewport of the observation deck, watching the moon shed its light. Kira floated just behind her. "Lacus," he said softly. Lacus looked briefly at him, a sad smile framed in her lips, before she looked back out into space.

"What's bothering you, Lacus," Kira asked gently. "Is there something wrong?" He tried to see Lacus' face, but she turned again and looked away.

"Nothing's wrong, Kira," she said quickly. "I just had to get away from the party."

Kira was not convinced. "Lacus, I know something's bothering you. You don't have to keep it from me."

But Lacus didn't speak to him, and just stared out of the viewport. Patiently Kira just stood there, watching her, waiting patiently for his partner to say something. They did not speak for several minutes, until Lacus broke the silence.

"Why must we do this? Why must we fight again? Why must _you_ fight again?" She was looking at him now, fear evident in her face.

"Lacus, I -"

"I'm tired of this, Kira. I'm tired of having to fight for a world we wish for but others try to destroy with hate. I'm tired of having to carry this burden. And I -," Lacus hesitated, before continuing on.

"I'm scared, Kira. I'm scared when you go off and fight. I'm scared that there might be a day that you couldn't return to me. I'm sacred that you wouldn't come back and I'll be all alone."

Lacus flung herself at Kira, and buried her face in his chest. She started crying, her tears flowing down uncontrollably. "Sometimes I hate myself for giving you the Freedom. I hate myself for being was targeted in Orb and put the children in harm's way. I hate myself because you came on the Strike to save the _Eternal_. And I'll hate myself more if you don't return because of me."

She looked pleadingly into his purple eyes. "Please don't fight anymore. I don't want to lose you. I'll die without you." She slumped on his knees, exhaustion taking hold of her.

Kira held her close. He stroked her long pink her, and kissed her forehead. "I understand how you feel, Lacus. You don't have to fear."

She gently lifted her chin with his right hand, and looked at her lovingly. "Remember the time Cagalli went after Athrun after he decided to blow himself up in the Justice, to destroy the Genesis? Athrun told me once what she said, and how her words convinced him to come back with her."

"'_To live is to fight'_ is what she said. Athrun wanted to die then, to escape the pain. But Cagalli's love for him won him over, and he has faced life with the same courage and wisdom he has when he fights."

"Kira…"

Kira kissed Lacus on the forehead once more. "I too, live to fight, but for a different reason. I fight to protect all those I love and cherish."

"Kira…"

"And you, Lacus, you are the most important person to me. I love you, Lacus Clyne. I love and cherish you more than anything in the universe because you _are _my life. You have given me back my life, Lacus. You saved my soul when I thought I couldn't be saved."

He touched the ring that hung on the silver necklace around Lacus' neck. "You gave me this ring once and asked me to give it back after I returned. At first I didn't understand what you meant, but since then I've understood completely. And I will always keep my promise to return to you, to always be at your side. Nothing can stop me from coming back to you. And I will protect you from all harm."

Kira reached for something inside his pocket and slowly took it out. He looked at Lacus once more a smile playing in his lips. "I'd wanted to give this to you for a long time. I wanted you to have it so that you'll know how much I care for you, how much I love you." Kira took her hand and placed the thing he was holding.

It was a ring made of platinum, similar to the one she wore in her necklace. But a single diamond was on its centerpiece, the gem shining under the light of the faraway moon. It glittered brightly, light dancing from its perfect facets. To Kira it was perfect when he saw it, perfect for the woman he knew and loved so much that he wanted her to have it and wear it, the evidence of a man and a woman's true love for one another.

"Kira…" Tears were again welling under Lacus eyes, but this time they were tears of great joy.

Kira knelt in space, holding Lacus' hands. He slowly slid the ring in her ring finger, as he spoke up lovingly. "Well? Do you?"

The most beautiful smile Kira had ever seen was now appearing on Lacus' radiant face, happiness banishing the fear and grief in her eyes. She embraced him tightly. "Yes, Kira, yes! You don't know how long I've waited for this. Oh, Kira!"

"I've always known you've waited for me to get up the courage to do this," Kira watched the stars glitter in Lacus' eyes. "But I was always scared you wouldn't accept me."

Again Lacus laid her head on his chest. "You jerk. You should know I would always accept you, no matter how you are or what you do." She looked up, and touched Kira's face with both hands. "And now I will stay with you forever, and live our lives as we truly should be."

She leaned over and kissed him, this time on his lips. The first one was short, sweet but tentative, as if probing the boundaries their passion was to allow. The next one was longer, more passionate, the love flowing between them, giving them life that was full and eternal. Gone were the inhibitions of before, for the promise of a eternal future together opened up their hearts for one another's true feelings, and love powered their way.

They didn't know how long the held each other close, nor how long they were locked in their passionate kisses, only that they wished this Christmas night, that the love they shared will last beyond their lives, and that peace will come and bless them forever.

If only peace could last forever. For in every good dream a man and a woman could wish for, a nightmare always lurked in the shadows.

* * *

_**Inbound Earth**_

_**December 25, CE 74**_

Mu La Flaga was out on patrol on the Akatsuki. Murrue wanted the course clear all the way to the _Archangel's_ drop point for its atmosphere descent for Orb. He was flying formation with Gou, and they were on their return leg, heading for the ship, when four black shapes suddenly appeared to their one thousand meters to their front.

"What the hell-", Mu started, but had to cut it when missiles bloomed off the black shapes heading for them. Mu got the Akatsuki out of the way, but a missile caught Gou's wing and sent the Murasame out of control.

Mu pulled out of the way once when the black raider began peppering him with beam fire. He pulled into evasive maneuvers, then fired at raider diving in on Gou's damaged Murasame, which could not transform into its humanoid form.

The Akatsuki engaged the raider, which turned to face him. The raider thrust out at Mu with its beam saber, but Mu blocked it with his shield. Mu tried to hit back with his CIWS, but the bullets exploded harmlessly on the raider's beam shield. The raider slashed out once more with the saber, but Mu flew carefully away from its reach.

Mu caught a glimpse of more mobile suit cloaking, traveling in the general direction of the ship _I've got to warn the Archangel_. Mu opened his tacnet and shouted his warning at the unsuspecting ship.

* * *

_**Archangel**_

_**Inbound Earth**_

_**December 25, CE 74**_

Alarms began blaring around the entire ship. Kira and Lacus responded quickly, although startled from their intimate encounter at the observation deck. Just when they thought nothing bad could happen to spoil their Christmas, the worst did.

"What's going on, Murrue-san." Kira was asking via the ship's PA from the pilot's ready room. Murrue faced him. "We got a laser transmission from Mu. He and Gou had just been jumped by unidentified mobile suits with mirrage colloid capability. He said that other mobile suits as coming this way. Ikeya and Nishizawa are launching as we speak." Two loud rumbles shook the Archangel, as its two remaining Murasames shot out of the launch bays.

"I'm going out too," Kira decided. He started to get into his flightsuit.

"Okay," Murrue agreed. "I'll have the new unit prepped on cat-one."

"No. Have the chief ready the Strike Rouge instead. Prep it with the old Strike settings. The new one's not ready yet. Besides," Kira smiled at Murrue's image. "Its not meant for _me_."

"Roger that." Murrue's face vanished, as Kira locked the collar seal of his suit. Lacus looked at him intently.

"What?" Kira was afraid that Lacus was worrying again.

"Nothing," Lacus took his hands into hers. "I just wanted to say that I love you, and I trust that you'll be victorious. Just come back to me."

Kira kissed Lacus' hands. "I promise."

Murrue was ordering constant communication with the Akatsuki and the Murasames, who were now engaged with a unknown number of raiders. The black mobile suit's ability to cloak made an accurate count of the number of attackers, which Chandra approximated at twelve at least. It was then that the sensors officer shouted out his warning. "Two raiders decloaking at three o'clock, range four thousand! Missiles inbound!" 

"Roll to port! Twenty degrees! Underside Igelstellung, track target and open fire!"

Neumann turned the wheel hard to the left, and the _Archangel_ barrel-rolled out of the way of the missiles, most of which passed harmlessly, except for two that were intercepted by the Igelstellung CIWS.

With the barrel roll three fourths complete, Murrue began her counter attack. "Gottfried one, FIRE!" And the main beam cannon of the Murrue spewed deadly fire. The raiders broke off from the murderous riposte of the Archangel, and disappeared.

Murrue began her next move. "Load sulfur canister missiles to Corinthos launchers one through six and thirteen through eighteen. Launch for a three-sixty degree spread. Detonate them at distance one thousand. Fire!"

The medium ranged missile launchers fired its missiles, which stretched out around the ship for one thousand meters, before their warhead's open up. Steady streams of sulfur dust spread out from nozzles on the warheads around space, blanketing it in sulfuric cloud. The dust particles came in contact with the mirrage colloid of the cloaked raiders, shutting down the stealth system and making them visible.

Murrue contacted Chief Murdoch down at the hanger bay. "Get the Strike Rouge out now while we have a chance!"

Mu maneuvered the Akatsuki into a guard position once more, coming between the raiders and the damaged Murasame. One raider dove for him, beam saber slashing out, but Mu blocked this with his own saber. He tried to counterattack, but the raider countered with his own parry. The raider threw a power punch with its left at the Akatsuki's head, but Mu quickly ducked down. The raider lost control and lunged out of the way. Mu slashed once more with the saber, catching the raider in its backpack. The backpack blew up as the battery exploded.

The remaining three raiders fired their beam simultaneously at Mu, who faced the beams head on. The beam struck the Akatsuki, for a moment looking like they were absorbed by the golden armor, then the beams were reflected back, firing at an arc directly towards the raiders. The three black suits scattered, and Mu to the chance to breathe relief at the turn of events.

* * *

_MOBILE SUIT OPERATION SYSTEM_

_/Version NV8-099ORB/_

_General_

_Unilateral_

_Neuro-link_

_Dispersive_

_Autonomic_

_Maneuver_

_G.U.N.D.A.M. Synthesis System_

_ORB_

As the mobile suit's OS booted up, Kira began typing pre-flight adjustments to the system for his optimized use.

_CPU settings complete. Linear linkage, ionic concentration, normal. Meta data processing, stable. Power flow from the ultra-compact energy battery, nominal. Battery extender, connected. All systems green. Strike Rouge online._

"I'm ready Murdoch-_san_!" Kira shouted over the loudspeakers. He felt the Strike Rouge sway, as its cradle gantry slowly slid towards the blast doors at Murdoch's controls. He heard Lacus' voice, as she spoke from the communications seat of the bridge.

"_Commencing Strike Rouge launch sequence. Opening hanger bay doors. All non-essential personnel are to clear the area."_

The massive blast doors opened, and the gantry position the mobile suit's feet over the catapult.

"_Safety locks released. Catapult connected."_

The feet of the mobile suit landed on the catapult, and the gantry returned into the main hanger bay.

"_Blast doors securing. Launch bay doors opening. Catapult track clear."_

The blast doors closed behind the Strike, as the massive launch bay hatch opened up to space.

"_Aile Striker pack deployed. Connection to hard points, commencing_."

The Aile Striker augmentation was lowered from its storage bay, and connected to the Strike Rouge's back. The beam rifle and the shield appeared from side storage bays and where placed on the hands and arms of the mobile suit.

"Weight to power ratio computation complete. Catapult power optimized. APU online."

Power output from the ultra-compact energy battery increased, and additional power from the auxiliary power unit was coursed for the catapult's use.

"_Course clear. Systems, all green. Aile Strike Rouge, you are cleared for launch," _Lacus finally said. _"Be careful, Kira. Come back to me." _

The catapult status indicator flashed the ready signal.

_I'm ready now._ "Kira Yamato, Strike Rouge. Launching!"

The Strike Rouge shot forward, the massive force of the catapult launching it with three seconds off the launch bay. Kira pulled hard a second upon clearing the edge of the bay, and pushed the button to activate the phase shift armor. The external colors of the Strike Rouge changed, taking on the red, white and blue color scheme of its legendary predecessor.

And not a moment too soon, for at that exact point in time, four missiles exploded upon the Strike Rouge's body, knocking it back and momentarily stunning its pilot.

From the bridge of the _Archangel_, one single cry from a pink-haired girl was heard, tearing through the void of space, "_KIRA!_"

* * *

Mu was scanning for more raiders, all the while protecting Gou's damaged unit. He hoped that the message he sent out reached the ship, and that they got ready in time. He saw flashes of light in the distance, being born and dying in an instant in the vacuum of space. The Akatsuki was turning to its direction when the raiders decloaked in front of him with a fury.

The three black suits circled around the Akatsuki and its damaged ally. The seemed to be taunting him, waiting for him to leave his position so that they could pounce on him. _Big mistake_, Mu thought as he jumped back into action.

At Mu's command, seven DRAGOON pods fired off from the Shiranui Striker Pack and flew into position around the Akatsuki. With his incredible spatial awareness, Mu maneuvered the pods to engage the black suits that were caught off guard. Twenty-one beams leaped out of the pods' guns, lancing out to the raiders. The beams cut the raiders to bits, all of dying in massive explosions that lighted up the darkness of space.

Mu turned his attention to Gou. "Are you okay there, Gou-_san_?" The Murasame pilot sent his confirmation. Mu was thinking of what to do next, whether to bring Gou along back to battle now revolving around the Archangel, when he heard deep within his mind the anguished call of a girl who feared the lost of the one she loved. _KIRA!_

_Something's wrong_. Mu felt it in his mind. "I'm going back to the ship Gou. You stay put." The Akatsuki rocketed off in the direction of the Archangel.

* * *

"_KIRA!"_

Lacus' cry penetrated his soul. That fact that she was afraid that he was dead shook him into action. He didn't like the sound of Lacus' anguish cry, and resolve that he well never let anyone force sadness upon her ever again.

_I will not allow you to defeat me. I will not allow you to destroy the Archangel. I will not allow you to shroud my peaceful world into the chaos you spread. I will not have you bring sadness back to Lacus' eyes. I will protect Lacus and our new and better life with all my power._

And Kira closed his eyes. For a moment there was complete darkness, and then the light of truth flared to life. Kira felt himself calming down, his body relaxing, his heartbeat becoming regular, his consciousness expanding. He felt himself rising to a new level of spirit, as the purple seed fell, exploding in the maelstrom of light right in front of his purple eyes.

He opened his eyes once more, the pupils shrinking, as the iris grew more dominant. He could feel the freedom again. The boundaries of the prison called humanity fall away, seeing where the spirit truly should lie. Kira fell in tune with the universe, as the power of the seed was reborn within one of its true children.

_SEED mode_. A state of mind and body where one sees the universe as it truly is, and embraces it. A human's consciousness is opened to all, and his physical boundaries are broken. One's capacity to accumulate and process different brain activity is increased, his senses sharpens to extraordinary levels. Never really accepted by most intellectuals, branded as nothing else but a fanciful legend connected to berserkers, the truth is there in a few, advanced individuals.

Although one can never truly grasp it's meaning, nor truly recognize and feel it, extraordinary beings can exist in this advance state, urged by mental and emotional extremes, whether by great trauma that wounds one soul, or strong determination to fight and protect, or the darkness of anger fueled by vengeance. Kira Yamato was one of these chosen beings, and with the seed he was reborn.

Four more missiles came into Kira's view, the raider's coup de grace upon him. But Kira, enhanced with the seed was faster now than Death itself. He thumbed the trigger for the head mounted Iglestellungs, which raked the missiles with a spray of seventy-five millimeter rounds. The missiles detonated as Kira banked away from them.

A black raider decloaked to his right, and swung its beam saber down towards the Rouge's head. Kira dodged it by inches, and hit the raider by swinging the beam rifle at him. The rifle's body struck the one of the left dragon wings, snapping a portion of it off. The raider flew out of control for a section, before it cloaked and vanished.

Two more raiders appeared beneath him, and fired multiple beam blasts. Kira pulled a back flip, barely avoiding the beams, then returned fire with his rifle. His beams caught one raider, vaporizing the raider's rifle. The other fired two slugs from its rail guns, one of them catching the Strike Rouge's striker pack. The striker pack's left bottom wing was destroyed, along with the bottom thruster pod.

Kira barely regained control, when two more raiders materialized to his right, and there beam fire caught the right arm of Strike Rouge at the elbow, blowing it off. The five raiders regrouped together in the distance, then cloaked, preparing for a new attack on him and the ship.

Kira glanced at his targeting radar, and assessed the tactical situation in a split second. With just one arm the Strike Rouge's capabilities was hampered severely. He opened a line to the _Archangel_ over the tacnet. "Murrue-_san_. I have a plan." Kira told her quickly.

Murrue's confused face came on the MFD. "It's too risky. The raiders are just too close."

"Trust me, _Kanchou._ I can do it." Kira was already maneuvering the Strike Rouge to the bow of the _Archangel_.

* * *

Murrue nodded. "Give us a minute." Murrue she called up Murdoch down at the hanger bay and told him Kira's plan.

Murdoch didn't like the plan. "But _Kanchou_, its too dangerous. Tell the kid to think of another way."

"I already did, Chief, but he won't listen. So just do it," Murrue ordered. The chief just nodded assent. "Transfer catapult control to me." She looked over to the sensors station. "Mister Chandra, you'll handle the laser designator." It took less than a minute, and finally Murdoch reported in that everything was ready.

* * *

Kira was dodging another barrage of beams when the go signal from the ship was transmitted. As per his plan he flew on a far arc, luring the decloaked raiders to him. They ended up to the rear of the Archangel. He flew a little farther then turned into the chasing raiders. He flew aggressively passed them, breaking up their formation. He juiced every little amount of power he could from his undamaged thrusters, and the Strike Rouge rocketed pass the ship.

As soon as Kira passed clear, the Archangel opened up with its Valiant rail cannons and Helldart missiles at the pursuing raiders, catching one its path and destroying it. The others avoided the deadly barrage and started attacking the ship with missiles. CIWS turrets on the Archangel roared into life, intercepting the massive volley.

Kira flew to the front of _Archangel_, positioning himself in line with the second launch bay. The laser designator for the Archangel's catapult locked onto the Strike Rouge. "Laser designator locked on!" Chandra reported. Murrue waited till the Strike was three thousand meters away, then pressed the firing button. The catapult on bay two rushed forward.

The Integrated Weapons Striker Pack cleared the launch bay doors seconds later, launching itself on a near parallel course with the Strike Rouge, closing in on the mobile suit as it was guided via the laser designator. At two thousand meters, Kira ejected the damaged Aile Striker Pack, and the phase shift armor shut down. The approaching IWSP closed in at Mach six, and the Strike Rouge slowed to let it close.

Suddenly two of the raiders appeared above and to the rear of the IWSP, and fired its rail guns. Four super-velocity slugs flew at extreme Mach speeds for the IWSP, and Kira knew that the Striker Pack would be destroyed before it could link up with him, until a streak of gold flashed behind the IWSP.

A massive explosion blanketed space, as four rail slugs exploded upon the beam shield emitted by three drones of Akatsuki's DRAGOON system. The golden Orb mobile suit fired its beam rifle at the pursuers, and held them at bay. "You're all clear, kid. Do it now, Kira!" Mu shouted over the tacnet.

Kira edged the Strike Rouge over to the IWSP's flight path. The striker pack gently connected with the hard points on the Strike Rouge, and fresh energy coursed back into the mobile suit. Kira reactivated the phase shift armor, and flew back towards the fight.

Kira saw Ikeya and Nishizawa fly at his wings. "Go after those two to the left." The Murasame's banked left and accelerated away. Kira saw four raiders diving for the _Archangel_. He looked around for the Akatsuki, but Mu-san was engaged in a fight with two more. Kira opened up with his twin one hundred five millimeter cannons, which tore into the head of one raider and scattered the rest.

He knew that the raiders were hit bad but still dangerous, and that they were coming back for another attack, and with the Strike Rouge so close to the _Archangel_, the ship was sure to be caught in the fire. He positioned the Strike Rouge five hundred meters in front, and opened the line to _Archangel_ again.

"Fire a volley of sulfur and armor piercing missiles at my location on my command."

Once more Murrue's face scowled back at him on the MFD. "But you'll get hit by the fire Kira-_kun_. Its too dangerous."

Once more Kira cut her off. "Just trust me and fire when I say so. I'll take care of the rest." He fired wild bursts from the one hundred five millimeter cannons and his shield's Gatling cannon, hoping to draw in the cloaked raiders to him.

It worked. Six raiders decloaked to his left and started their attack with a volley of beam fire. Kira blocked them with his shield, and was satisfied to see that the raiders will still coming, beam sabers coming to life from their arms. They continued to bridge the distance between them, as Kira timed his move right. _This is going to cut close. Just a little closer, a little more…_ "Now Murrue-_san_. _NOW_!"

* * *

From the bridge Murrue waited for Kira's command as the raiders closed on him, and was ready as Kira's voice cut into the tacnet. "Corinthos, _FIRE!_"

* * *

Kira jerked the stick back and slammed down hard on the thrusters, as the Strike Rouge climbed fast, as the _Archangel's_ launched its sulfur canister missiles. The raiders, caught unawares by the Strike's sudden move couldn't react quickly enough, and was pummeled by sulfur particles as the canister sprayed them. The sulfur canisters bathed the raiders in red dust, which filtered into the mirrage colloid dispensers, rendering them useless. Two more were pummeled by the follow up volley of armor piercing missiles.

Kira exploited the turn of events. He fired one last long burst from the shield mounted Gatling gun then tossed the shield away. He drew one of his 9.1-meter beam swords and flared his thrusters for his charging attack. The raiders began evasive maneuvers, but one blocked the sword with its own saber. Kinetic lightning crackled as beam saber met sword, and the two titans of war struggled to gain the advantage over the other.

Suddenly his radiation alarm blared, as a blinding flash was engulfing space to his right, and the light was growing rapidly. The flash became more pronounced, as it formed into a massive stream of positron energy that completely disintegrated two raiders in its path. Kira barely got the Strike Rouge out of the way, as the beam continued forward, the impact of collision did not lessen the force of its power.

Kira turned to the direction of the positron beam, and found him staring in disbelief, as the massive arrowhead shape of the ZAFT battleship _Minerva_ loomed in the distance. She was accelerating towards them, her twin primary beam turrets spewing fire, its green beams lancing forth at the remaining black mobile suits, scattering them in all directions.

* * *

Murrue watched in shock at the sudden appearance of the ZAFT battleship. She knew so well of the history between the _Archangel_ and the _Minerva_, how the two had fought either side by side or against one another in the war. Murrue was concerned that the _Minerva_ would fire on her ship even though a peace treaty was signed between the countries they served. But the Minerva oriented itself to face the raiders, much to Murrue's relief. Chandra's voice confirmed her thoughts. "The _Minerva_ is engaging the raiders, _Kanchou_."

She turned to the officer manning the weapons station. "Cover the _Minerva_. Don't let her be hit by the raiders."

* * *

Small lights began flying out of _Minerva's_ two ventral launch bays, as a ZAFT mobile suit team rocketed forth to join the battle. And then her central bay opened, and Kira saw four smaller shapes fly out to join its allies.

The lead of the four, a small fighter craft, underwent a radical transformation, as its cockpit nose bent downward, folding up with the rest of the fuselage. Docking lasers connected it to beacons on the leg flyer, as the two components combined. The components docked next with the chest flyer, and the left are folded out, deploying the anti beam shield, and revealing the mobile suit's multi-antennae head. Finally, the Force Silhouette augmentation pack detached from its flyer, and docked with the mobiles suit's back. Its eyes lighted up, and the gray coloring of the body changed into a multicolored design as the energy battery powered up and the variable phase armor came online. The shield expanded, and the ZGMF-X56S Force Impulse blasted off to get into the middle of the fray.

The raiders reoriented themselves to meet the new threat, but the ZAFT units struck first. A black Gouf lashed out at a raider with its Slayer Whip heat rod, enveloping the black suit's right hand. The extreme heat melting into the arm, and the arm ripped away from the beleaguered raider. A yellow ZAKU Phantom angrily launched a volley of missile, which blanketed the damaged raider with multiple explosions. Finally the Impulse struck, a single beam blast from its rifle coring the raider, ending its existence.

The raider facing Kira fired its beam rifle again at the Strike Rouge, hoping to kill its opponent before the fresh enemy comes to challenge it. Kira was bringing up his shield to parry the strike, but was surprised as the beam missed, it's source's aim thrown off balance as another beam pierced through its head, killing its sensors and rendering the mobile suit mortally damaged.

Kira saw another ZAKU Phantom, the source of the accurate beam shot, this one amazingly colored in pink, slammed its foot down on the cored head of the raider, totally crushing it with sheer force of impact. The ZAKU flew away before the doomed raider was destroyed by internal explosions. The ZAKU paused to scowl at the Strike Rouge, as if dismayed at its performance in the battle, before it jetted off to join its companions.

Kira could now see that his side was now winning the battle. The arrival of the Minerva changed the tide dramatically in their favor. The raiders were taking heavy losses, and probably running low on energy. And the fresh ZAFT mobile suits, together with the Akatsuki and the Murasames were beginning to overwhelm them.

* * *

Hitomi looked over the red, white and blue mobile suit that was fending off the raiders. She recognized it as the Strike, a legendary mobile suit that was the boogeyman of ZAFT forces in the latter parts of the first war. She thought that it was destroyed at the end of that war, but realized that its operators probably rebuilt it. She noted the damage it had taken, and the stupidity of the pilot to think that he could take on multiple enemies all by himself. Hitomi angled the ZAKU to her left, and moved into her wing position behind the Impulse.

"Fan out in two's," Hawke-_Taichou_ was commanding over the net. "Madison and Rena, cover the _Minerva_. Don't let those black suits get near her. Hitomi you're with me." The Impulse headed for the Orb battleship _Archangel_, which was about to be beset again by a couple of regrouping raiders, but were ably fighting them off with a golden mobile suit in support. Hitomi followed, firing off four of her missiles in two flights of twos.

The raiders dodged their fire, and turned to face them. One went after the Impulse while its trailer focused his attention at Hitomi. She deftly dodged the high velocity rounds of the raider's rail cannons, before she returned the complement with more missiles.

She looked over and saw her Taichou locked in the dance of death with the other black suit. They danced together in space, trading and avoiding fire, seemingly effortlessly. The raider tried to gain an advantage on the Impulse, but the infamous ZAFT mobile suit blocked its every attempt, all the while gaining an advantageous angle of attack on its enemy. Finally the Taichou gained a decisive advantage, and took the initiative, drawing her beam saber and slashed out to the raider. The saber's edge caught the raider at its hips, and the Impulse continued its deadly stroke, slashing upwards, cutting the raider in half.

Madison and Rena were also taking advantage of their counterparts. The support fire coming from the secondary batteries of the _Minerva_ was keeping three black mobile suits busy, allowing her two friends to flank them. Madison skewered one with her beam sword, while Rena pushed the other two back with multiple blast from her beam gun.

Madison grabbed the impaled raider on its head, and thrust her sword deeper, until the raider's battery lines where cut in the violent attack. The raider slumped as power went out. Madison left her sword with the raider's remains, as it now floated powerless in the void of space.

Rena combined fire with the _Minerva_, peppering the two other raiders relentlessly, not allowing them to fire at the ship. The raiders saw their wingman's death via the Gouf's attack, and realized that the tide of the battle had changed decisively against them. They regrouped and veered away, with other raiders on their tails.

The last raider was still locked in combat with Hitomi, who was succeeding in blocking its attacks but nothing else. The raider kicked out, hitting the pink ZAKU with a glancing blow, but enough in the zero-G environment of space to throw Hitomi spinning out of control. Her main power shorted out with the violence of the impact, and warning claxons began blaring from the internal speakers.

Seeing his prey in trouble, the black suit lunged forward, twin sabers lengthening out, and began its final attack. But high velocity streams of metal slugs chain-sawed both arms of the raider cleanly off, knocking it back and forcing it to retreat with the rest of his allies, with the Orb Murasames in pursuit.

Hitomi found the damaged Strike flying off to her side. The Strike grabbed her ZAKU and stopped her uncontrolled spin. A helmeted face appeared on her MFD, looking at her with mesmerizing purple eyes staring threw the visor. "Are you alright?"

Regaining her focus, Hitomi replied. "Uhmm, yeah, thanks." She tried to reactivate the energy battery, but the power chargers were damaged and did not respond.

The Strike's pilot nodded. "I guess we're even then. Thanks for the backup. But you shouldn't have gone one-on-one with that last one up close. Better to have taken him on with your ranged weapons. Here, let me help you back to your ship." The line went dead, as the pilot cut his link.

"Hey!" Hitomi shouted. "Who the _hell_ do _you_ think you _are_ you jerk? Who are you to _critique_ my fighting skills?" Hitomi fumed, but the pilot didn't respond, content to carry her pink ZAKU back to the _Minerva_, much to Hitomi's chagrin and embarrassment.

* * *

**_Furutaka District_**

_**Orb City**_

_**Orb Union**_

_**December 25, CE 74**_

He silently stood there, on the street, looking at the house he grew up in all those years before, but now bereft of life or the spirit of his family, with him as the last to carry on their legacy. Shinn looked at its simple architecture, its blue paint cracking in places, the windows boarded up in its vacancy. He notice the garden in their front lawn looked like it was still tended, his mother's flower patch still full of the dandelions she loved.

Shinn's heart ached as he looked over this place he once called home. He unconsciously played with the pink cell phone he had in his pocket, the last reminder of his loved and lost sister, Mayu. She died with their parents when a stray beam struck them as Shinn's family was escaping the carnage in Onogoro during the Atlantic Federation's failed invasion in CE 71. Shinn was the only survivor of the tragedy, only because he was farther away from his family, trying to pickup this cell phone when Mayu dropped it. Shinn managed to evacuate from the battlefront, but witnessed the gruesome death of his loved ones, a memory that forever haunts his wounded soul.

Shinn eventually ended up in the PLANTs, where he entered the ZAFT Academy as a scholar, with the recommendation and support of then Colonel Todaka of the Orb military, who took care of the heartbroken orphan after the flight from Orb. Shinn graduated and became a military officer in ZAFT, and the greatest mobile suit ace of the Second Bloody Valentine War. Although Shinn returned to Orb during the early phase of the conflict, he never returned to his house, nor did he after the life changing events in the Battle of Messiah. This was the first time he came back, and was feeling reluctant to stay, the memories overwhelming him.

He was about to leave, when someone called out his name. He turned towards the sound, and saw and elderly, stooped woman watching him from the gate of the house beside his. She was a kind lady, her face wizened with age. She was part of his Shinn's life growing in this place. "Is it really you, Shinn Asuka?" she asked.

Shinn walked over and bowed respectfully. "Hello, Mrs. Hizayakawa. A Merry Christmas to you. I'm glad you still recognize me."

She nodded. "How could I forget you, my boy. You and your sister were always making that racket over by your house. Always fighting and chasing one another. It's hard not to hear you two," Mrs. Hizayakawa smiled, reminiscing the days when life dwelled within the walls of Shinn's place. "So how are you and your sister? Are you doing well?"

The pain of heartache again filled Shinn. "No. She's dead. She died while we were evacuating three years ago. She died along with my parents."

Sadness and concern faced Shinn from the wizened woman. "I see. So you just came back. Well come along." She started to go inside his house, beckoning Shinn to follow. Shinn hesitated, not really wanting to go inside his old home, lest the ghosts of his lost haunt him. But his neighbor looked over her shoulder. "Come on now. I haven't much time you know."

They reached the doorway, and Mrs. Hizayakawa took out a bundle of keys. "I still have the keys to your place your mother left me," she said, as she looked for the appropriate one. She eventually found it, and opened the door. "I've seen to it that your place is clean. No electricity though, the power company cut the lines years ago. But I've tended to your mother's garden as if it was my own."

Shinn stepped through the door and went into his living room. As expected, the ghosts began to haunt him, feeling him with a great feeling of lost and grief. But he kept himself in check, not wanting to cry in front of the kind old lady.

"You miss them do you?" his neighbor said softly.

Shinn couldn't hold back the tears anymore. "_Hai_. I miss them so much."

She nodded knowingly. "Come. I will make you some tea. I'll start boiling some water first on the stove. Then we can talk."

They spent a good portion of an hour conversing, talking about how their lives changed after the fateful day in Onogoro. Mrs. Hizayakawa talked about how she lost her only son, who was a tank officer with the Orb's defense forces. She lived alone now, although the children of her surviving daughters visit her, and spend the weekends with her. She kept herself well by having a simple lifestyle, eating the right food and doing light exercise. She said she still felt lonely at times, mostly at night as she slept alone in the house. She wasn't concerned for her safety since their suburb was relatively quiet and crime-free. But to a widow who had outlived her husband and son, and with the rest of her children living their own lives, life was sure lonely.

Shinn related his story after he left for the PLANTs. He told how Todaka helped him enter the Academy, his years studying and training, the friends like Rey and Luna that he met, and how he served in the militia after graduation. He omitted certain parts of the story like his participation in the raid on Orb and the battle of Messiah. He also told her of his erstwhile new life in Germany, how he lived that secluded life. When the old woman asked him why he only returned just now, he told her he wasn't ready before. He didn't say anything else, and a uncomfortable pause crept into their conversation.

The silence was broken by the ringing from Mayu's cell phone. Shinn started using it when he arrived on Orb a few days ago, trying to make contact with Athrun, Meyrin or anyone of their friends. He eventually got to talk to Luna's younger sister, who wasn't particularly happy to speak to him. Even though the sisters were living separate lives in faraway places, they remained close, not allowing the events late in the war to affect them. Meyrin just didn't want to return to the PLANTs anymore, to avoid the awkwardness after being falsely accused of being a traitor. And Luna thought that Shinn would stay in the militia, so she agreed to retain her commission with ZAFT. But that was before Shinn suddenly left her to be in Germany. Meyrin eventually found out about it, and she was obviously feeling hurt for her sister.

So Shinn wasn't surprised that it was Meyrin who was calling, she promised to call if she got the preparations done for him. Shinn excused himself from Mrs. Hizayakawa and answered the call. "Hello, Meyrin."

"Hello Shinn," she replied blandly. "I've made the arrangements for you. We're waiting for you right now. So if you can get here as quickly as you can the better."

_That was fast_, Shinn thought. _She must really want to get rid of me quickly_. "Okay. Where should I meet you?" Shinn listened to Meyrin as she gave instructions to get to where she was. "Okay, I got it. I'll be there within the hour." He waited for Meyrin to hang up, before he spoke once more. "I'm sorry Mrs. Hizayakawa, but I have to go. I have an appointment to keep."

The old woman nodded and stood up from her chair. As they began to go out of the house, she held Shinn's arm and stopped him. "Before you leave Shinn, I think you should have this back." She handed him the keys she kept.

Shinn studied the keys on his hand. "I don't know, Mrs. Hizayakawa, if I should take it right now. I'm not sure when I'll be back."

The old woman smiled at him. "I know that, Shinn. But this way you'll know that you always have a place to come home too. This will always be you home. Your family would have wanted it this way."

Shinn could feel the wetness in his eyes, and shook them away. "_Arigato_. Mrs. Hizayakawa. I would like that very much."

* * *

_**Main Hanger Bay**_

_**Minerva**_

**_Geosynchronus Orbit Over Earth _**

**_December 25, CE 74 _**

Hitomi was still fuming as she waited with Hawke-_Taichou_ for the Strike's pilot to come out of the mobile suit. The Strike landed on the _Minerva_, which had ended operations and was now orbiting beside the _Archangel_, while carrying her shut down ZAKU with its remaining limb. It was ironic that the two battleships, mortal enemies during the last war, were now side by side, fighting a common enemy. Whether or not this new alliance was temporary or not, only time would tell.

Hitomi wanted to give the Strike's pilot a piece of her mind, and she didn't care what her superiors or crewmates would do or say to her. She felt embarrassed and insulted that someone beside her commanders had the nerve to patronize her.

Her friends were walking up to her, mischievous smiles framed on their faces. Madison ruffled her hair, and playfully punched her in the shoulder. "I heard you were saved by your knight in shining, red, white and blue armor," she teased, indicating the now gray Strike. Rena swooned beside her. "Isn't it _romantic_, Hitomi? Your _hero_ risked his life and limb, literally," Rena pointed at the Strike's limbless arm, "to save _you_, his _princess_!"

Hitomi turned on them. "First of all _he_ is _not_ my knight-in-_whatever_-color-armor and I am not _his princess_!" she insisted. "Whoever that bastard is, _I_ saved him first! He's no _Prince Charming_ for me, that's for sure!"

"Cut that racket, the lot of you," Hawke-_Taichou_ scolded, as the cockpit of the Strike opened, and its pilot began to go down on the lift cable.

_Taisa_ Devereux and _Chusa_ Arthur Trine, the Minerva's first officer since its maiden voyage a year ago, walked towards them, _Chu-I_ Abi Windsor and _Chu-I_ Mad Abes, the chief tech of the _Minerva_, trailing from behind. "I've come to talk to him too, Lunamaria," the _Kanchou_ spoke. The _Taichou_ nodded, and joined the commanding officer's party.

The pilot had now stepped off the lift cable and was walking over to the waiting group. He was definitely a man, not so tall, with a trim physique, evident in his blue, orange and white ODF-style flightsuit. He walked confidently, as if knowing that no one in the hanger had the ability to take him on. _Well he hasn't met me yet._ Hitomi thought evilly.

The pilot stopped in front of them, and took off his helmet. Hitomi saw for the first time his serious but handsome face, framed under a mass of long brown hair. The pilot looked each of them over once and smiled at them, and Hitomi sensed a great power and wisdom emanating from those purple eyes that caught her under its magical spell while he spoke to her in the ZAKU. The pilot saluted _Taisa_ Devereux. "Thank you for granting me permission to come aboard, _Kanchou_," he spoke in a soft voice.

The _Kanchou_ returned the salute, and extended a hand over to the Strike's pilot. "It's the least I could do for saving the life of one of my pilots, _Shousho_." Hitomi felt his cheeks burn, and frowned at Rena, who was failing miserably from keeping herself from giggling. Madison promptly shut her up by stepping on Rena's feet.

If Devereux heard their antics, the blue haired officer showed no sign of noticing. "I'm _Taisa_ Jane Devereux, the captain of the _Minerva_. I welcome you to our ship, _Shousho_ Yamato. You've met my exec, I believe," she indicated _Chusa_ Trine.

The pilot nodded. "_Hai_. I met _Chusa_ Trine after the fighting on the moon." Trine, for his part, kept silent. The exec had a look of animosity for the pilot, which Hitomi didn't understand.

Devereux gestured for Hawke-_Taichou_ to come forward. "And I know you know my mobile suit team commander."

The pilot smiled broadly at her _Taichou_. "_Hai_. Her sister and I are good friends. Its nice to see you again, Luna."

Returning his friendliness with a smile of her own, the _Taichou_ shook the proffered hand. "Likewise, Kira-_san_. I guess my sister's doing well. Is she with you on the _Archangel_?" she asked.

"_Iie_. Meyrin is back in Orb. She's so busy with the Foundation that she didn't go with us to Copernicus. But she's well and doing fine."

Hawke-_Taichou_ nodded satisfactorily. "That's good to know. I'm surprised to find out you were flying the Strike, Kira-_san_."

The man named Kira Yamato grinned. "It was the only one available at the time," he said, not revealing anything else. He spoke to the _Kanchou_ and _Taichou_ some more, before the _Taichou_ called Hitomi over. It was at that exact point that Hitomi realized just who the pilot was.

_Kira Yamato?_ _His name is Kira Yamato?_ Hitomi stopped, her eyes growing wide with astonishment and awe. She was so irritated and angry at him that name did not register immediately to her brain. _Oh my god! That's Kira Yamato! The legendary pilot of the equally legendary Freedom and Strike Freedom! He's the pilot of the Strike? Why isn't he flying that new mobile suit, the Strike Freedom?_

Fear and awe swept into Hitomi as she suddenly remembered all the stories she heard in the Academy about this man. He was supposed to be the most fearsome mobile suit pilot in recent history. Piloting the Freedom, Kira Yamato fought both the Earth Alliance and ZAFT, as a member of Orb and the infamous Terminal, at the side of Lacus Clyne.

If Hitomi believed what little she heard from the grapevine and what she gleaned from her _Taichou's_ stories, this man's skill with a mobile suit was almost god-like. It was said that when Yamato fights, especially with the Freedom, he was almost untouchable, and all who stood in his way would fall by wayside. His flying skills was said to be unmatched, and his uncanny aim allowed him to disable all of his targets but leave their pilots unharmed.

Hitomi heard the story of the legendary duel Yamato had with Athrun Zala, the son of former Chairman Patrick Zala and another famed pilot and ZAFT ace. She also knew that her _Taichou_ knew and fancied Zala, who at one time was the _Minerva's_ mobile suit team commander, before he left ZAFT as a supposed traitor, taking the _Taichou's_ sister along with him. Zala and Yamato were best of friends, but were forced to fight to the death, when Yamato fought with the OMNI Enforcer in the first war.

Zala supposedly killed Yamato, destroying the Strike, but he mysteriously came back to life, flying the Freedom, and helped end the Battle of JOSH-A during the failed Operation Spit Break, saving the lives of many ZAFT soldiers who fell into the trap laid out by the EA. He then joined forces with Zala in defeating the invasion of Orb, and eventually fought to end the first war at the Second Battle of Jachin Due, the two warriors intercepting the nuclear missiles fired at the PLANTs, again saving millions of Coordinator lives.

Yamato was also said to almost single-handedly defeat the famed ZAFT ace Rau La Crueset at the Jachin Due, and then he disappeared. He reappeared a year ago, saving the _Minerva_ from his Orb allies in Dardanelles and Crete. When Shinn Asuka, the _Minerva's_ former resident mobile suit ace and the _Taichou's_ lover, supposedly defeated and killed Yamato when Asuka destroyed the Freedom, again Yamato returned to defeat Asuka with his new mobile suit, the Strike Freedom, during ZAFT's raid on Orb.

At the last battle of the second war, Yamato led the Terminal in defeating the ZAFT forces loyal to Chairman Dullindal, and helped destroy the _Messiah_. And there was also a rumor that he faced down Dullindal as the _Messiah_ was burning down, and escaped the collapsing fortress only seconds before it exploded into a small supernova.

Of all the mobile suit heroes and aces she heard of, she held Kira Yamato in her pedestal for the best. She admired everything about him, and though he never saw any pictures and images or him, she still fancied him in a way. But she never dreamt of meeting him personally. It was like a Christmas wish come true, if she ever _dared_ to wish for it. And now here he was, standing in front of her, in the flesh, and on Christmas Day of all days.

_And here I am about to call him a jerk! _Hitomi's train of thought was cut off as Kira Yamato extended his hand to her. "I'm glad to meet you, _Shou-I_," looking at her with those captivating purple eyes.

Feeling heat from her cheeks, Hitomi didn't know whether to shake his hand or not. She was at a lost at what to do. She resisted the temptation to look at her friends for help, but she realized that they'd probably be smiling back at her mischievously, Rena especially. Seeing the reprimanding glare from Hawke-_Taichou_, she decided to the salute instead. "_Shou-I_ Hitomi Minamoto, sir! Its an honor to meet you, sir!" she shouted out like a new fresh-faced cadet.

Yamato was taken aback, as if uncomfortable with being addressed in the way due to his rank. He held up his hands. "No need to salute, _Shou-I_. At ease." He smiled genuinely, as if talking to a long lost friend. She felt the warmth of his touch as he took her hand and brought it down from her salute. "You did very well out there. I'm so glad you're not hurt. Thank you for taking out that raider for me."

"I-its m-my p-pleasure, sir," Hitomi stammered. At her back, Rena was giggling uncontrollably now. Madison eyes where closed in exasperation. _Taisa_ Devereux cleared her throat, and spoke to Yamato once more.

"I've spoken to Ramius-_Kanchou_ on the _Archangel_, _Shousho_, and she explained your journey back to Orb, when those raiders jumped you. From what she said those were most likely the same ones that hit Orb and Oslo days ago."

A serious look hardened Yamato's handsome features. "_Hai_. We've had intelligence reports from the Orb attack. The black mobile suits matched the description from the data we've gathered from the raiders Orb shot down. They're we'll armed and flown by skilled pilots. You saw how hard it was for us to fight them off. If you hadn't come to help us, well," Yamato didn't finish.

The Kanchou raised her right hand. "It was our pleasure, _Shousho_. Ramius-_Kanchou_ inquired about you, asking if you were all right. We told her you landed safely on our ship and we'll resupply you here. We don't have replacement parts for you mobile suit though, but we could charge your energy battery for you."

Yamato bowed. "_Arigato_, Devereux-_sama_, but it would not be required. I've got enough power left to get over to the _Archangel_. I believe she is alongside the _Minerva_, _ne_?"

The Kanchou confirmed this with a nod. "She is currently recovering your other mobile suits. It looks like one of your Murasames was badly damaged, but Ramius-_Kanchou_ indicated that the pilot was banged up, but generally unharmed."

Yamato looked over to a corner of the hanger, where the wreckage of a raider mobile suit lay prone, the hole made by Madison's sword gaping through. "I see you salvaged that thing."

The Kanchou nodded once more. "Better to get it and study it than leave it to a Junk Guild scavenger. We need to gather all the date from it that we could." She ran her eyes along the lines of the salvaged raider. "I'm not sure if I could, but I am willing to share with you whatever data we find out."

"Thank you, Devereux-_Kanchou_, but I guess we need to go through the proper channels for that. Nevertheless, I am grateful for the offer."

_Chu-I_ Windsor put her hand to her earpiece and spoke to the _Kanchou_. "Message from the _Archangel, Kanchou_. They have completed recovery operations and preparing for their atmospheric descent for Orb. _Taisa_ Ramius is requesting _Shousho_ Yamato to return immediately."

"Then I better be getting back," Yamato bowed to the Kanchou once more. "I thank you again for your hospitality. Devereux-_Kanchou_. And it's good to see you again, Luna-_san_."

The _Taichou_ bowed back with Devereux-Kanchou. "Please say hello to my sister for me, okay?"

"_Hai_. I will." Yamato started to leave, but stopped in front of Hitomi. "Good luck, Hitomi-_san_," he said, giving her the friendliest smile she had ever seen. "I would like to meet you again when all this trouble is over - oh and a Merry Christmas too you."

Blushing as pink as her ZAKU, Hitomi tried to hide this by bowing. "_Arigato_, Yamato-_sama_. Merry Christmas to you too. It has been my honor to have met you." Yamato bowed back and began to walk towards his dormant mobile suit. He was about to step on the lift cable when the _Kanchou_ spoke up again.

"You are going to look for them, aren't you, Yamato-_sama_," the Kanchou said. It wasn't a question, more like a statement of fact. "The _Archangel_ is going to look for the raiders."

When Yamato looked over his back, supreme resolve and determination filled his face. "We have to act, Devereux-_Kanchou_. We can't just let the chaos cast a shadow at our new peace again." And Yamato started to go up to his mobile suit's cockpit, with Hitomi watching him until he disappeared within the Strike.

Later, in their quarters, as her friends slept soundly and peacefully, Hitomi lay awake, thinking of the new dreams she will have in the future - dreams of a brown haired pilot, looking at her with enchanting purple eyes.

* * *

_**Kuzzey's Koffee Korner**_

_**Orb City**_

_**Orb Union**_

_**December 25, CE 74**_

Shinn arrived at the designated place. It was in the middle of Orb City's sidewalk café district, filled with people of all walks of life enjoying a leisurely drink or meal in the different establishments that lined the streets. Students were chatting and debating things, businessmen were still negotiating deals, couples cozying up to each other, lone folks quietly reading or playing with digital devices, and families were relaxing in their free time together, all enjoying drinks or sumptuous meals, celebrating the Christmas holiday of the year.

Shinn walked for a few minutes through the crowd walking along the boulevard on this holiday, until he found the place he was looking for. It was a cozy little place, filled with college students lounging in its comfortable chairs. Kuzzey's Koffee Korner had the look of comfortable welcome for those who enjoy its ambience and caffeine drinks.

He found Meyrin sitting on one of the sidewalk tables, under a colorful outdoor umbrella. She wore her long red hair in her favorite way - that of twin ponytails on the sides of her head. She was wearing a beige spaghetti strap blouse, and a blue pair of shorts, with flip-flops adorned by her tiny feet. She was sipping was looked to be mango juice, and looked like she was enjoying her cold drink on this warm day. Shinn noticed that she hadn't change, and was looking a lot like her sister - including the frown Meyrin wore as she saw him approach.

Her two companions did not move as he approached. Both were male, and both looked to be competent and formidable. The younger one, about his age, had a bored look in his face, and had his hands behind his ruffled blonde hair. He wore a green, island shirt, and drawstring pants. He was biting on a small umbrella toothpick that he took from his empty glass. He eyed Shinn as he walked over to them, and Shinn felt that he knew this person, and met him somewhere.

The other person seemed to be the only one really enjoying himself. He was the oldest of the group, by the bulk of his body. He also wore an island shirt - this one in a very loud yellow - and beige shorts and sandals. He hid his eyes under dark shades, under a ridiculous looking straw hat. A wooden cane stood leaning on one side of his chair. The man was the only one drinking a hot one, this time coffee, on a mug with a tiger cartoon drawn on it. Shinn didn't recognize him, but felt an aura of danger emanating from this individual.

Shinn was still looking at him when he stopped in front of their table. He nodded at Meyrin and greeted her. "Hello Meyrin."

Meyrin didn't say anything but turned to the older man, who in turn spoke to the younger one. "I told you that he'd come right away after Meyrin called. You owe me five bucks, Elsman." The younger man grimaced as he handed over some bills to the older. The older man smiled at Shinn.

"I guess you're interested in Athrun's offer, Shinn Asuka?"

Shinn felt his anger grow at the man's arrogance. "I wont speak to someone I don't know."

The one called Elsman laughed. Meyrin tensed. The older man smiled more broadly as he took off his hat and shades, revealing the scar the cut into his right eye, closing it forever. "Then let me introduce ourselves. You already know Meyrin, of course. The young happy fellow over there is Dearka Elsman. And I am Andrew Waltfeld."

Shinn recognize the names instantly. _Andrew Waltfeld. The Tiger of the Desert!_ ZAFT's former desert forces commander and now a primary mover of the Terminal. And Elsman's one of those who stole the prototype mobile suits from the EA in that infamous raid on the ill-fated Heliopolis colony. If he was here, that meant that Dearka Elsman was also a member of the Terminal. These guys were serious players.

Waltfeld gestured for Shinn to sit down in an empty chair. Shinn slid silently into it, keeping locked in eye contact with the Desert Tiger. Waltfeld leaned back into his chair before he spoke up once more. "Something to drink, Mr. Asuka? Don't worry about paying. Its compliments of Elsman here," Waltfeld said, waving the money Elsman lost in their bet.

When Shinn said nothing, Waltfeld chuckled. "I see that you're the _uber_-serious type. Well then. Let's get to business." Waltfeld leaned forward. "What can we do for you?"

Shinn inhaled deeply. "I want in."

Waltfeld's left eyebrow shot up. "In on what?"

"Whatever Athrun offered me. I want to help."

Waltfeld sat back once more, his arms planted upon the armrests, his fingers touching each other. "Then we have a problem, Mr. Asuka."

Shinn looked confused. Not waiting for his reply, Waltfeld spoke on. "I am not privy to what Athrun-_san_ said to you. So I cannot offer what he has. Unless you are willing to wait for him - he is currently out of the country."

Shinn felt his exasperation growing as he was getting tired of the by-play. "Mr. Waltfeld, I'm sorry if I sound rude. But I've had about enough of your bullshit. Zala offered me a chance to be part of whatever you are doing. He said I had a place in it all if I wanted. But if you're just going to give me the go-around and have me wait, then I'll just leave."

Waltfeld's one good eye hardened and stared into Shinn's eyes. Shinn held his gaze, and eventually stared the wily ZAFT commander down. "Tell me why I should help you," he commanded.

Shinn tossed the picture and copy of the email on the table. "This email was sent to me a few days ago. It shows this picture," Shinn pointed to it, "with that woman encircled in red shooting at the speaker. I know that woman. She looks a lot like Stellar Louisser, an Extended pilot who died in the last war. She was the pilot of the first Destroy that ravaged Berlin." Shinn took a quick look at Meyrin, who recognized the person as the pilot they captured after Dardanelles, and Shinn freed - the woman who Shinn loved before he turned his attentions to her sister, Lunamaria. "She's been dead for several months now. I know 'cause I buried her." Shinn let his last statement sink in. "But this picture was taken less than two months ago. That can't be."

Waltfeld considered the picture. "Are you sure it's not a digitized fake?" Shinn shrugged. "What does this picture mean to us?"

Shinn was ready for his question. "I think it's connected to the attacks you've suffered."

"And you think we're doing something about it? How can you be so sure?"

"I'm not really sure," Shinn sighed. "But I know you're going to do something. At least knowing Zala, he would." Meyrin looked sad upon hearing Shinn's last words. "And I want in." Shinn stiffened, and said the words he thought he could never say to people he wanted to despise. "I'm _begging_ you to let me join you."

Waltfeld smiled. "Now you're talking. Humility will get you anywhere." Again the anger flared within Shinn, but again Waltfeld beat him to the punch by talking first. "All right, you're in, for Athrun's sake at least. If Athrun-san thinks you can be of help, then I trust his judgement." He waggled a finger at Shinn. "But only in the condition that you would do _whatever_ we say to you. This is still a military outfit, and we're not a democracy. I don't want your excuses about slacking off because you don't want to. In our group everyone pulls his weight and _follows orders_. Understood?"

Shinn nodded. "_Hai_."

Waltfeld smiled once more, and offered his hand to Shinn. "Then welcome aboard, Shinn Asuka. May you not curse the day you ever got involve in our crazy troubles! After all, Terminal has the knack attracting more trouble than any of us ever wished for."

* * *


	6. Phase Five

_**Author's Notes:**_

_Some corrections for the previous chapters. The mobile suit Kira used in Phase Four is the Strike ROUGE, not the Rogue as I mistakenly spelled. Big boo-boo on my part. Thanks to **Magicalfoci** for pointing that out and making me notice. I'll be updating that chapter for corrections soon. Thanks to **Warp Ligia Obscura** for the name of the one of the Murasame pilots (Nishizawa). I got the Issou name from the subtitles of the GSD anime copy I have. And also to **YomigaeruTsubasa** for pointing out the limitations of radar and radio waves in a neutron jammer inundated Earth and the use of Japanese ranks and titles. I'll adjust these in the next chapters. _

_Also in Chapter one I wrote that there were two mobile suits in the Angel's Point main hanger, together with the Infinite Justice, when there was supposed to be only one (guess which one that is). I was writing then with the idea that the Akatsuki was there too, but that suit appeared on the Archangel in the next chapters. The Buster was not in the main hanger, but in a separate storage area._

_I'll be giving my early apologies to the Latin and Spanish speaking readers of my story if I make mistakes with the syntax and grammar of your language. I'm not that fluent in Spanish, with just passing grades in that subject in college. So just tell me where I went wrong in reviews. Again my apologies._

_Okay that's all for now. This next chapter's action sequence was inspired by mobile suit combat from the Mobile Suit Gundam 08th Mobile Suit Team series. Enjoy.

* * *

_

_**Disclaimers: **_

Mobile Suit Gundam SEED is owned and copyrighted to Hajime Yate, the Sotsu Agency, Sunrise and BANDAI.

* * *

**Phase Five Meetings**

* * *

**_Cosmic Era, Year 74. The Second Bloody VaIentine War had just ended, and Earth and the PLANTs again struggle to rebuild. The leaders of the major powers, weary of the constant conflict, their countries struggling to survive the post-war world, unite to sign another treaty for the rebirth of peace. But dark forces lurking in the shadows strike forth, dragging back the world into the maelstrom of chaos and ushering a renaissance of vioIence and tears_**.

* * *

_**Outskirts of Diego De Almagro**_

_**Chile State**_

_**Occupied South America**_

_**December 27, CE 74**_

He arrived from the small airport late that evening. Adam was allowed by the owner of this grand place to visit only under the cover of darkness, and only under heavy guard, hence the several escorts waiting for him as he got off the VTOL after the short, stealthy flight from his base. They asked him to stop before a waiting limousine, and stand with his hands up. One guard shined at flashlight at him, another frisked him down for weapons, while the others looked at him suspiciously, even though he was an infrequent visitor to this place. They are not taking in anything for granted, Adam thought, as he siIently allowed the obviously nervous guards to manhandle him. They wouldn't let anyone with anything that could be used as weapons enter their master's domain, even those known to be in contact with him.

But Adam did not feel threatened, knowing that he could defend himself and defeat these fools if it came to vioIence because their master wanted extreme secrecy and security for their meetings. Especially during these days, when the country they were in was under the brutal grip of occupation. Even though the village had no significant Atlantic Federation military presence, security was tightened for the threat of spies, informants or assassins.

He was allowed to get on the limo, and immediately after the car's door closed, they were off. Adam rode with the driver and two other guards, while the others rode on another front car and chase vehicle. The small convoy drove through the darkness fast, taking a back road that swung around the main village, and went directly to the first of a series of checkpoints manned by more guards. They were waved through the first one, as well as the last two, before they reached the main gates of the massive country mansion complex

The convoy stopped in front of the regal gates to the mansion complex, and watched as a security camera scanned him. The gates slid open, and Adam was driven slowly up the path to the house's driveway, where more dark suited security personnel accosted him as he stepped out of the limo. They were about to check him once more, before a voice from the grand doors of the house voice made them halt.

"There is no need to search him," said a petite, golden haired, teenaged girl. "I will vouch for his conduct." The girl looked up to her companion, a dangerous-looking. tall, bald man whose evil expression in his face was magnified by a long triangular scar across his left cheek. The bald one nodded, and the guards let Adam pass unhindered. Smiling, the girl met him, and offered her hand. "Hello, Adam."

Adam took the hand and kissed it, "Greetings, Lady Isis. I've come to see your father. I apologize for coming on such short notice."

Isis turned around, and began to walk towards the grand staircase that flanked the main reception hall of the house. She motioned for Adam to follow her. The bald man half a fell a step behind him, matching his pace and keeping his hawk like eyes for any sudden movement from Adam. They began their climb up the oak and marble stairway.

"I have been training hard, Adam," Isis declared. "Soon I will be ready to help you achieve our goals." Adam just ignored her.

Isis continued on. "Father was expecting you, Adam, so we were prepared for your arrival. He expects you have news for him."

"Does your father know I bring not so good news?"

Isis nodded. "Probably, but he never tells me these things. He probably thinks it's not important for me to know." She led him towards double doors on the third floor. She stopped in front of them, and looked up to Adam. "I hope the news is not too bad, _for your sake_," she said in a friendly manner, but dripping with danger.

She knocked on the door. "He's here now, father." Isis opened a door, and stepped out of the way for Adam to enter. "Maybe we can talk later then, Adam. I've missed you so." Isis pursed her lips, smiling seductively.

"Maybe," Adam responded coldly. "If I have time." He walked through the door and closed it behind him.

The room was the largest on the third floor. It was also the grandest, with paintings of Renaissance masters like Da Vinci, Raphael, and Michelangelo framed in gold line the northern wall. Hundreds of old books filled a large bookshelf to the south end of the room, books with Humanist topics, tomes on Roman law, Greek sciences and philosophies, and Latin poetry. Ancient nautical instruments, large sextants and telescopes, ocean charts and old world maps and scrolls lay on top of a large oak wood table in the center of the room, flanked by a large globe on brass hinges.

All these treasures were shrouded in darkness, as the only light within the room came from the large, four-poster bed that dominated the eastern end of the magnificent chamber. Eerie blue light came from wall-mounted fixtures on both sides of the bed. Two giant Ancient Egyptian sarcophagus stood guard on both sides of the bed, alongside respirators, IV holders and different medical monitoring apparatus, all lighted up, their cold lights from there monitors adding to the foreboding feel of the room.

On the bed, his master lay. They call him the Pharaoh, and Adam thought it apt for a man who styled himself a powerful, but dying god-king. The man was wrapped in bandages all over his thin body, and a mask of pure gold covered his shallow face. Burned skin peeked out from spaces between the bandages, and singular white hair slid out from the small head. Only red eyes could be seen from beneath the elaborate mask.

Tubes from the medical machines were connected to various parts of his body, as they were the remaining lifeblood for the hampered body organs of this dying flesh, giving him air to breed, liquids to digest, clean blood to flow. An air of death pervaded from the Pharaoh, as if Anubis was constantly hovering, waiting for the Pharaoh to give in to him and lose his soul. Only the sheer will of hate and a lust for power kept the man alive and coherent, with a mind that was the master of all chaos.

"Speak," the Pharaoh commanded, in voice that seemed to have come from the depths of Underworld.

"I failed in the mission. The seraph has landed on Earth," Adam responded.

A sharp intake of breath came from the Pharaoh, his only action denoting his attempt of mocking laughter. "I told you that you were too audacious in your actions."

Adam held his head high. "I know, Master. And I take full responsibility of my actions."

"No matter," the Pharaoh waved Adam's apology away. "We shall not dwell on _your_ mistakes - though I _expect _that you learn from them." The red eyes grew stared deeply upon Adam. "How does your failure affect our plans?"

"According to Gregorius, the _Enforcer_ lost half of their raiding force. I wanted that half for my next mission, but now I don't have those assets. It will affect my capabilities, unless we increase production of new units."

"How long would production take?"

Adam mentally calculated the Ienght of time. "About a month and a half, two months at the most-"

The Pharaoh inclined his masked head slightly. "At the expense of delaying the production of your special units," he finished.

Adam frowned. "Yes, my Master. We could work with the delay. Obtaining the special equipment for them is proving more difficult that expected. The target location is well protected. But we can take them when all of our assets are in place."

The Pharaoh was siIent for a while, considering the given information. "Very well, I will be patient. I allow the increase - though it is a drain to our current resources. It would force you to adjust your plans, but I want to be absolutely sure that we act _only_ when you are ready." He waited until Adam nodded assent. "How are the plans of Dr. Samson coming along?"

"She said that her team has isolated a promising specimen, and continues to study with it," Adam reported. "She says that if the specimen proves viable, they could produce enough supplies within the first quarter of next year."

"Good. Dr. Samson is very reliable. I trust her to succeed as before." The Pharaoh looked at Adam once more. "You should _emulate_ her, Adam. She is the one that contributes to our success the most you know. You should be very _proud_ of her."

Adam looked away. "I value her help, yes. I admit her skills have been valuable for your plans. But I do not trust her or any of her scientists. I need her help only in keeping my Extended ready," he paused, thinking if he should say what he wanted to say next. "As for her other projects, I do not care what it is, as long as it's beneficial to you, Master."

The Pharaoh laughed. "_You_ should know, of all people, how important she is - not only to me, but also to _you_."

"_Her_ success will determine _ours_, Adam. Her expertise in her work is very important, since she is the only one still living with the knowledge and expertise of her very rare field. I need that knowledge so that _my_ plans - and your plans would succeed. From the knowledge she holds comes the means to defeat our enemies."

The gray-haired pilot said nothing. He did want to contradict the dying man, but didn't want to risk losing his trust and support.

"You are siIent about this, Adam. I know you feel the need to gainsay what I said, but won't," the Pharaoh said, reading his mind. "Admirable, but do _not_ think that you can _hide_ your thoughts from _me_." The Pharaoh put his right hand on his chest. "But I am pleased that you honor this dying man with your loyalty. And you will be rewarded. Not only with your _life_, which _I_ gave to you years ago. But also with the support and resources that you need."

The Pharaoh pointed at the massive desk in the middle. "I have something for you. Take the black binder." Adam walked over to the desk and found what the Pharaoh was pointing too. It was a large black plastic folder, with a thick pile of files bound within. Adam picked up the item, and he saw eight numbers printed on the binder's face. He studied the numbers, trying to figure out what they meant. Adam looked at the Pharaoh, who gestured to him to open the binder and read further inside.

Adam's eyes grew large as he read the contents of the first page. "But this is-", he started, but the Pharaoh's evil laughter cut him off.

"I _knew_ you would like it, Adam! Think of it as a late _Christmas gift_ from me," the Pharaoh told him.

Adam bowed. "Thank you Master. This is a great help. You are ever benevoIent to me."

"I can be _benevolent_ when I _wish_ to be, Adam. _Never forget that_." The Pharaoh fell siIent, and Adam took this as a sign of dismissal.

Adam started to leave, and reached the door when the Pharaoh spoke again.

"_I _have waited long, Adam, for my plans to bear fruition. I have _sacrificed_ too much for it. I am dying now, _immortality_ a dream I failed to make true. But _vengeance_ I can still claim, as well as _power_, and I _will_ have them. And you Adam, have a debt to me that must be _paid_." The last word rang like thunder. "Pay it with the blood of _our_ enemies and the rebirth of chaos."

Isis was waiting for him at the foot of the staircase. "Have you finished your talk with Father?"

Adam nodded and headed for the main doors.

Isis held his arm. "Can't you stay with me- even for just the night?"

"No," Adam replied, shaking his head. He shook free of her grip and continued his stride out of the mansion. "I have a _debt_ to settle _first_, Isis."

* * *

"What do you think, my friend?" the Pharaoh asked the darkness.

The bald man stepped out of the shadows, able to slip in unnoticed into one corner of the bookshelves from a secret door. He kept silent during the entire conversation, listening intently to everything Adam said, as was the order of his Master. "He is angry for his mistake, my Master. All the more that the one he hates the most got away from what he thought of as a clever trap he laid out. He will be more careful from now own."

"I expect that from him, my friend. He has to be more careful. We cannot waste our resources on unnecessary actions. He will learn to deal with his enemies all in due course." The Pharaoh closed his eyes. "Go and join Adam in the base. I want you to monitor his activities. Send Isis along with you. My daughter will enjoy the visit as well."

The bald man bowed. "And that would keep Adam on his toes - a distraction to his activities."

The Pharaoh nodded. "Yes, she will keep him alert, and divert the attention from your presence. Do my bidding, my friend. I am counting on you."

"My lord," the Knife said, as he melded back into the shadows, to do his Master's bidding.

* * *

**_Archangel_**

_**Inbound Orb**_

_**International Waters**_

**_Pacific Ocean_**

_**December 28, CE 74**_

Murrue waited in front of his door, repeatedly pressing the door chime to alert him of her presence. But surprisingly Mu didn't answer her, even as she hailed him via the intercom. She hadn't seen Mu since the _Archangel_ re-entered the atmosphere and landed on the Pacific, landing a hundred miles to the north of Orb, in order to skirt around a typhoon system currently battering the northern shores of the island country, which blocked a direct reentry route for the _Archangel_. She wanted to call a conference amongst the immediate command crew, before they began their submerged run for Orb, but she decided to consult him first. But when Mu didn't answer her summon from the bridge - that made Murrue worried.

She next searched for him on the hanger bay. Murrue thought he might have fallen asleep again while working maintenance on the Akatsuki or the Skygraspers, as he was prone to do once in awhile, but even that lead turned up cold. She was about to give up when Chief Petty Officer Kojiro Murdoch, the wild haired chief tech of the _Archangel's_ mobile weapons maintenance teams faced her. "He's up there," Murdoch said, pointing at the ceiling. Getting his meaning, Murrue quickly left the hanger bay, and climbed the access ladder leading to the outside observation deck.

She found him leaning by the deck's fence, watching the dark clouds of the typhoon cast an angry pall over the ocean. The wind was blowing strong on the deck, momentarily forcing Murrue to cover her eyes from the sudden gustiness. Mu didn't seem to mind the wind, as stood unmoving in its path, his golden hair being blown back in the air. Ever since he came back to her life this had become his favorite place when Mu wanted to be alone or think. Murrue had learned to gauge his mood when he was here, she knew when to approach him or leave him be. But the violence of the weather increased her worry for him, and she decided to know what's wrong.

"Mu!" Murrue called out over the wind. He turned slightly at the sound of her voice, but returned to face the storm. Murrue went to him, standing by his side. Mu still didn't speak to her, content to continue gazing at the angry heavens.

"What are you doing here?" she asked with a worried tone. "The wind's too strong, Mu. It's dangerous up here."

"I know."

Murrue furrowed her brows. "Mu, what's wrong?" She touched his hand with hers. Mu looked at her hand, and held his gaze there.

"I feel like there's something's waiting for me out there." He indicated the storm.

"What do you mean, Mu?" Murrue was even more confused.

Mu lifted his hand from hers and grabbed Murrue's. "I'm not sure, but I feel restless, you know? Like there was something that I still have to do or discover somehow."

Murrue looked towards the storm. "Do you think it might have something to do with your time as Neo?"

Mu fell silent. "Maybe."

Murrue tightened her grip. "You're really impossible to read sometimes."

"_Iie_," Mu chortled. "I'm _Mr. Impossible_ right?"

Murrue let go of his hand, and placed hers akimbo. "I'm not joking." Murrue faced away from him. "I'm worried about you. Lately you're always spaced out or something. You've been acting like this ever since we visited Johnny."

Murrue felt Mu embrace her. "I'm sorry. I know you mean well." Mu kissed her behind her ear. "I'll be fine. I just have a lot of things on my mind."

Murrue nestled her head by his. "You know I'll be there for you if you need me."

Mu rubbed his cheeks on her hair. "I know, and I'm really grateful for that."

Mu turned her to face him. Both their eyes met, in understanding of the feelings they shared, birthed in joint companionship in war, which they hoped to nurture in the new future. They both closed their eyes at the same moment, and felt each other's aura, as both leaned to kiss…

Until the buzzing of Murrue's personal comlink broke their reverie. Surprised, Murrue quickly pushed Mu away, and activated the talk button. "What is it?"

A nervous sounding Kira answered back. "Sorry to bother you, Murrue-_san_, but we're approaching the thirty mile distance from the Point. You asked me to tell you when so -" Murrue looked up to the direction of the bridge tower. Kira and Arnold Neumann stood there, both looking down at them from the viewport of the command bridge, both looking apologetic. Murrue felt her face redden, while Mu slapped his forehead in frustration.

Murrue sighed, before speaking into the comlink again. "Get the command crew into my ready room, Kira-_kun_. Have the second shift take the conn." She watched as Mu titled his head to his side and frowned at Kira's direction. He was mumbling about something she couldn't hear.

"We'll be there in five minutes. Out," Murrue finished, tucking the comlink into her skirt's pocket. "What are you mumbling about?"

Mu shook his head. He led her towards the open hatch. "It just seems like I can't get one over the kid these days."

* * *

_**Southeast of Nova Olinda de Norte**_

_**Amazonas Sector**_

_**Brazil State**_

**_United States of South America_**

_**December 28, CE 74**_

_This rainforest is really getting on my nerves_, Will thought, as he slapped dead the millionth mosquito to feast on him on this humid afternoon. His body ached from being prone in an uncomfortable position. He lay on a muddy patch of grass beside the massive tree perched on top of an inclined cliff, overlooking a clearing in the jungle canopy, where a primitive, dirt road dominated one bank of a creek flowing south from the east. He considered his position secure albeit very dirty, with the extra protection of a stack of logs he placed in front him to add to his cover. Will was supposed to watch this particular spot, and chose his vantage point for maximum area of coverage and protection from detection.

The Atlantic Federation forces were supposed to use this road to transport supplies to and from the nearby Federation base at Nova Olinda do Norte a medium sized town a hundred miles southeast of the sector capital of Manaus, near the fluid frontline of the embattled United States of South America. Scouts from the USSA regulars had detected a convoy coming along this road, and estimated that they would be passing this spot around this time.

The plan called for Will and the rest of the Twenty-First Composite Mobile Platoon to wait for the Federation convoy to arrive, and with Will's firing of a signal flare, ambush the convoy. They would hit and fade, hitting hard and doing as much damage as they could in a few minutes of combat, then fade into the thick jungle and disappear. Success of the mission depended on timing, which was to be dictated by Will's actions. Simplicity, speed and stealth, was what the mission called for.

If only the great William Bartley could deliver on his part of the mission.

William could hear the approaching convoy now, the steady hum of internal combustion engines mixing with the rumbling of heavy footfalls of the mobile suit escorts. Looking through his powerful binoculars, Will saw the lead jeep appear from the last bend to the clearing, a heavy machine gun mounted on it, followed by the giant shape of the GAT-02L2 Dagger L mobile suit carefully looking about the open space ahead. The two head into the clearing and stopped at the middle, and Will could see someone on the jeep, probably an officer, say something to a handheld radio set. Moments later six Army trucks, flanked by two other Dagger Ls and two more armed jeeps, entered the clearing and stop behind their scouts.

Seeing that they had the best chance for their ambush at that moment, Will pulled out his flare gun. He raised it up, cocked the hammer, aimed at an opening in the rainforest's canopy and pulled the trigger.

Or tried too. But Will was surprised to find a great deal of slack in the trigger, and horrified to see that the trigger was broken, leaving the flare gun useless. "Why you useless piece of-", Will angrily threw the broken flare gun away. The gun hit a nearby tree hammer first, and the force released the hammer, which struck the firing pin of the flare, which launched from the gun, and struck full force into the tree beside Will, igniting it in flames.

Will slipped and fell back on his back in fright. The fire grew rapidly up the tree, immediately covering the ancient wood with red flames, as black smoke rose up to the sky. A burning splinter landed on Will's head bandana, and he quickly removed the burning cloth from his pointy orange hair. Will heard man-made noises above the crackling of the burning wood, and scared to see that the Feds where alerted by his disaster. They were pointing at him now, and one the soldiers opened fired at him with a jeep-bourn machine gun. Tracer rounds lit up as twelve-point-five millimeter bullets exploded all around his vantage point, but the height and angle of the cliff protected him from direct hits.

He forced himself to get up, not able to get a foothold on the wet ground at once, and then started to head for the deeper into the rainforest. His anxiety increased as he heard the loud noise of a thruster flaring and the ground shook as one of the Dagger Ls made a thruster assisted jump to scale the cliff. Panting for breath, he kept on running, which proved difficult in the dense rainforest, as he heard a tree splinter and crash as the Fed slammed into it while landing. The whirring of the Dagger L's CIWS rang in his ears, and bullets flew all around him, cutting down vegetation and exploding trees into deadly fragments. Will thought he was going to die, cut down by the deadly rain, but salvation came as he stumbled into a dropping slope and fell into it.

Will rolled, slipped and stumbled down the incline, until he reached the bottom. He felt dazed and dizzy, and his body hurt all over from bumps, cuts and bruises. It took him awhile to get his bearings, and he was happily surprised to find out where he landed. "Cool," Will exclaimed as he saw the hulking shape of his orange and green custom GAT-01 Strike Dagger, _'Wipeout'_ kneeling in front of him, hidden behind some trees and a large boulder, seemingly sinking into the muddy ground from all its weight.

Will stepped on the lift cable and retracted it, and started up to the cockpit. He jumped into the cramped space and positioned himself in the pilot seat, starting up the energy battery and powering up primary systems. The sound of fighting outside was growing more pronounced, as more rumbling from mobile suit engines filled the area. _The Shousa must have started their ambush as soon as the Feds fired on me. Man, is the boss going to be pissed at me! Nice going, Willy. You've probably screwed up this ambush from the get go._ Will was still thinking these thoughts when the ground in front of him erupted, as a blast of green beam energy struck the soil.

_Wipeout's_ engine was barely heating up when the mobile suit fell to its side from the shockwave. Will was thrown off his seat, head hitting the overhead monitors. "Oww," he cried as he rubbed the hurting area, relieved the no blood was present. He was still in pain when he saw the Dagger L's foot was about to step on him.

Reflexively Will pulled on the control sticks and pushed on his pedals. _Wipeout's_ foot thruster ignited, and Will launched the mobile suit towards the Dagger L. _Wipeout's_ shoulder struck the Federation mobile suit in the shin, and the Dagger L suddenly gave way and crashed to the ground. Will took the opportunity to make _Wipeout_ stand, and the massive giant staggered to get upright. But the soft mud of the forest floor made him slip once more, and _Wipeout_ landed hard on top of the fallen Federation suit.

He felt the rumbling as the Fed pilot began to push Will off him. Will tried to grab the Fed with Wipeout's right hand, but the Fed batted it away with its beam rifle. The Fed angled the rifle towards Will, but the rifle was blasted away by a spray of bullets coming from the north. The Fed tried to evade the fire, but his prone position made it near impossible. Several hundred rounds of seventy-six millimeter armor piercing rounds raked through the body of the Dagger L, and after many seconds of constant fire the Fed suit seize to move,

Will got his mobile suit to a kneeling position and turned to his rescuer. "Sorry about that. I slipped in the mud."

A cool voice came from the cockpit of a blue and yellow custom GINN, which had walked over to one side to pick up the Dagger L's beam rifle. "Well it's a good thing I saw you mud wrestling with that Fed." The GINN seemed to look over the rifle, and attached it to one of the custom holders welded on the GINN's right hip. "You'd better get up. The _Shousa_ and Gunny are already hitting them from up top." The GINN pointed above the canopy, where a black and red Windham and gunmetal Dagger L with flight packs were launching 'Drache' air-to-surface missiles in the direction of the convoy.

"Thanks Scott," Will replied. "I owe you one, _again_."

He heard his friend's chuckle. "I'll hold you on that. Come on. Let's cover the flyboys." The GINN trotted away towards the creek. Will followed, finally getting Wipeout out of the muddy ground. He saw the GINN stop at the vantage point he used minutes ago, bringing up the left hand to signal him to halt.

The ground where the convoy stopped was on fire. Several trees had fallen, cut down by weapons striking them. Several dead bodies, torn apart by the relentless rain of metal and beams, lay scattered in pools of blood. All of the trucks were now burning, and the mobile suits were damaged and pinned down by the two aerial attackers. The few surviving infantry huddled around the Dagger Ls, and Scott was peppering them from their vantage point with autocannon fire, adding to the destruction below.

One Fed mobile suit bravely but foolishly left his cover and started to fire heavily at the flyers in the open. Will and Scott concentrated their combined fire on it, disabling the Fed's rifle and forcing him to kneel under the cover of its anti beam shield. The black Windham dove aggressively at the beleaguered Dagger L, under the covering fire of the rest of the team. Another accurate shot from Scott tore off the Fed's shield hand, exposing in to the Windham.

The black mobile suit drew a Stiletto anti-armor penetrator knife from its hip, and threw it at the Fed. The Stiletto's rocket thruster activated halfway down, increasing its velocity for penetration. The blade struck the Dagger L squarely to the right of neck. The explosive charge inside the blade shot forth and detonated in the internals of the Dagger L, igniting the mobile suit's battery, and tearing the mobile suit in a massive blast.

With the death of their comrade, the remaining Feds decided to quit. Surviving foot soldiers ran for the forest, braving the hail of machine gun fire from the _Shousa's_ Windham. The last Dagger L succeeded in driving the Windham back with counter fire, and cleared the way for their retreat. Will considered pursuing, but the distance assured that the Feds could get away before he could get down to their position.

"All units fall back. Rendezvous at point Charlie." _Shousa_ Ward commanded over the tacnet. Will followed Scott along their preprogrammed route, as the two airborne units started to climb into the sky. There was no pursuit from the ravaged convoy, but the team was wary of reinforcements, which they knew was definitely on the way. They retraced their path through to the fallen Dagger L, which the two picked up and dragged along with them. The started off along a hidden trail underneath the thick canopy of the rainforest for their rendezvous point

"Good salvage huh?" Will asked his companion.

Scott's black haired, Asian face appeared on an MFD. "Maybe. No time to check this one out - wouldn't know until we airlift this back to camp. The beam rifle's toasted. I don't know if I could fix or modify it."

Will frowned. "That's too bad. I wanted another beam rifle."

"Get you one next time. I need one myself." Scott killed his line, leaving Will to silently travel back to their rendezvous point.

* * *

"Did you get that?" the old driver asked the freelance photographer.

The woman nodded. "Yes. I got everything I want. I told you it was worth the trip. First time I saw mobile suits _mud wrestle_."

The old man frowned, not at all amused. "You _know_ that this is dangerous, _senorita_."

"_Si_," she replied. "But I had to get these shots, _Senor_ Robles. Someone has to report about how this war is fought."

But the old man was not convinced. "How do you intend to send that out?"

The rusty-orange haired woman checked her camera. "I can send it via satellite through an encrypted signal." She looked at an image, and smiled in satisfaction at its quality. "Plus a few security precautions I have in my magic hat. I can do it when we get back to town"

"Very well then, lets get out of here before we get spotted. And it's getting dark already. Let go before the _Federales_ set up any more checkpoints. _Vayamos_." The old man began running into the rainforest, heading to where their vehicle was hidden. Miriallia Haww took one last look at the burning battlefield, before she silently followed the old man back to the vehicle and civilization.

**_Archangel _**

_**Inbound Orb**_

**_Three Miles Northeast of Angel's Point_**

_**International Waters**_

**_Pacific Ocean_**

_**December 28, CE 74**_

"Report Mr. Chandra," Murrue was speaking from her command seat. They had completed their underwater stealth run for their approach to Angel's Point, and the _Archangel_ was now closing in on her hidden dock.

The bespectacled ship's sensor officer looked up from his displays and faced her. "There's nothing on the passive sonar within four thousand meters underwater, _Kanchou_. No surface contacts except for a small fishing vessel at three hundred twelve degrees, range eighteen hundred. Depth readings place the bottom at seven hundred forty feet. Distance to the gates is twenty-five hundred meters. Orb waters are at less than one thousand. All clear all the way to Angel's Point, _Kanchou_."

Murrue nodded. "Very well. Mr. Neumann, decrease speed to one-eights maximum. Bring the ship up to twenty meters. Mr. Chandra, deploy the VHF antennae when we level off. Lacus-_san_, please raise Angel's Point. Tell them that we're coming in."

"Raising to twenty meters," Neumann announced from his station. The _Archangel's_ bow pointed up, as the massive ship decreased its depth, leveling off near the water's surface. "Leveling off. Speed decreasing. Speed holding at five knots."

"VHF deployed, _Kanchou_." Chandra reported.

Lacus began speaking into her earpiece. "Angel's Point control this is _Archangel_. Please respond."

Erica Simmons' voice came alive over the _Archangel's_ bridge speakers. "This is Angel's Point. We hear you loud and clear, _Archangel_. We show a faint signal near passive buoy number four, approaching the gates at four-point-niner-four knots at three hundred twenty-one degrees, distance twenty two hundred. Is that you, _Archangel_?"

Murrue looked over at Chandra, who nodded confirmation. "Confirmed, Angel's Point. We request entry clearance and procedures," Lacus responded for her.

"Roger that, _Archangel_. Be advised that we have a friendly ASW Murasame flying nearby. It's reporting your signal faintly on its passive. He also reports no other signals within three thousand. Recommend you come left fifteen degrees to port, at depth one thirty-two, speed three knots. That should put aligned for the IDS designator." The integrated docking system or IDS was a series of electronic signals, passive sonar and infrared, that serves as a guide for the _Archangel_ in entering the underwater dock of Angel's Point. Four low-frequency sonar beacons on the four corners of the underwater gates are activated when the _Archangel_ begins its final approach, and the _Archangel_ positions herself within the box created by the beacons, thus aligning herself for the optimum entry approach.

Three minutes later, the _Archangel_ reached the prescribed depth. "Cutting speed to three knots and holding, _Kanchou_," Neumann advised.

"Mr. Chandra?"

"We're in position, _Kanchou_. I have the beacons on the passive. The _Archangel_ is within optimum clearance for the gates. Distance is nine hundred meters and closing. Bottom depth has risen to three forty-five."

"Very good," Murrue replied. "Count it down to six hundred meters."

"Aye _Kanchou_. Distance is now eight fifty… eight hundred… seven fifty…"

'Slow her down a bit, Mr. Neumann," Murrue ordered softly.

"Decreasing speed to two knots. Preparing for turn." Neumann reported.

"Seven hundred," Chandra continued his countdown. "Six fifty… six forty… six thirty… six twenty… six ten… six hundred, _Kanchou_!"

"All stop!" Murrue barked. "Turn to starboard one-eighty!"

"Commencing turn." Neumann cut the speed of the ship and turned the wheel hard to the right. The _Archangel_ shuddered as its massive bulk turned slowly on its axis, and thirty seconds later she ended up with her stern pointing directly at the gates. "Turn complete, _Kanchou_. Speed zero."

"Distance to gates holding at five thirty-seven meters." Chandra added. He listened to the sonar for seconds and then spoke up again. "I hear popping and machine noises from directly astern. Angel's Point is opening its gates."

Murrue accepted the information with a nod. "Commence entrance and docking. Mr. Neumann. Reverse thrusters at two knots. Straight and slow, Arnold."

"Aye." Neumann set the throttle to reverse, and gently increased the speed to two knots, all the while looking at the IDS display to maintain the ships position relevant to the beacons. The _Archangel_ began to slowly creep towards the opened gate, maintain a straight reversed movement.

"Distance to gate is down to five hundred… four hundred fifty… four hundred," Chandra continued his countdown.

Murrue looked over to Mu, who sat at the chair slight below to her left. He gave her the thumbs up.

"Distance now at two hundred… one fifty… one hundred…"

Murrue gripped the armrests. "Easy now, Mr. Neumann." Neumann nodded, who was tensed and in complete concentration with his work.

"Fifty… forty… thirty… twenty… ten…five… four… three… two…one… the stern is passing through the gates now, _Kanchou_." The shadow of the gates was coming over the ship, and the lighted interior of the docking bay was coming into view. "Clearance is good at seventy meters up and down. Plus fifty… plus one hundred… plus one fifty…plus two hundred… two hundred ten… two twenty… thirty… forty… fifty!"

"Full stop, Mr. Neumann!"

Neumann cut the throttle, and gently applied the brakes, as the _Archangel_ halted its reverse momentum, rocking to buoyancy of the water. As she halted to a full stop, four large mechanical arms appeared from hidden storage bays from both sides of the docking bay, reaching out to grab the sides of the _Archangel_. "Stabilizing arms are being deployed, _Kanchou_."

Murrue felt the shudders along the ship as the stabilizing arms connected and sealed itself to hull, holding the _Archangel_ fast and secure to the dock. "Cut all power to engines, Arnold. We've made it. Well done everybody." She took in the entire bridge crew, who where nodding and smiling in satisfaction for a near-flawless docking. "Let's secure from level-two alert and prepare the ship for disembarkation."

"Message coming in on the viewscreen from Angel's Point control, _Kanchou_," Lacus reported, and the main viewscreen came to life with the face of Morgenroete's red haired chief engineer. "Good work in docking, Murrue. We'll start draining the water in the dry dock. You'll be able to get off in about a half an hour. Welcome back, _Archangel_."

Murrue took a glance at Mu and saw him grinning broadly. She relaxed and smiled at the viewscreen. "Thanks, Erica. It's good to be home."

* * *

Mu felt Murrue's hand touch his briefly as the main access hatch of the _Archangel_ opened up to the vast dry dock. The water had drained most of the way now, allowing the dock crew to work and approach the ship. The gantry bridge has extended from the dock to the access point, to allow the crew to open the main hatch. Mu was at first blinded by the bright lights hanging on the man made cavern's ceiling, but he easily adjusted to them. His eyes had cleared enough to see the gaggle of people waiting for them at the other end of the walkway.

Murrue stood with Lacus at her side. Mu stood slightly behind Murrue, while Kira stood parallel to him. They waited in attention as the crowd marched towards them a tall dark-skinned officer leading the way. He stood a few meters from Murrue, and saluted her. "Permission to come aboard, _Kanchou_," he said. Mu thought that she was going to lead them in saluting the star-ranked officer. But she turned to Kira, who was surprised at his move. Murrue raised an eyebrow at the brown-haired Coordinator, who picked up the hint that he should lead the salute, being the ranking officer amongst them.

So the running joke between Murrue, himself and Kira, who was still not used to the sudden promotion to _Shousho_ after the invasion of Orb months ago, went on. Stifling a chuckle, Mu watched as Kira awkwardly saluted the tall officer. "Permission granted," Kira replied. "Welcome aboard the Archangel, Kisaka-_sama_." _Chujo_ Ledonir Kisaka smiled, as he answered Kira's salute. Kisaka shook Kira's arm and nodded. "Welcome back, my friends." He next took the hand of Murrue, who shook it firmly. The rest entered the hatchway and stepped into a open corridor.

Mu took the chance to scan the group that met them, as they all exchanged greetings amongst them. Kira was now locked in a strong grip with Athrun Zala, his best friend and once constant companion of Kira's sister, the Orb Chief Representative Cagalli Yula Athha. Cagalli was not with the welcoming party - she was still recuperating from her injuries in a hospital in Scandinavia. Mu recollected his experiences with Kira's twin, remembering the time when she flew in a Skygrasper under Mu's tutelage. He also remembered when the blonde tomboy princess gave up the Akatsuki to his care for the _Archangel's_ mission to space. He wondered if the feisty and strong young woman was going to be well again, for her twin's sake and Athrun.

Athrun, on the other hand, seemed fully recovered from the injuries he sustained during the last war, and had taken to his responsibilities in the ODF Special Forces during the last few months. Though not as close to Athrun as he was to Kira, Mu had worked well enough with the blue haired Coordinator to know him as a responsible and intelligent person, though prone to periods of doubt and reluctance in his abilities. But Athrun was a good pilot, a fine officer, and an overall nice guy. Mu concluded that Kira was lucky to have Athrun as a best friend, and their group was lucky to have Athrun as a full-time ally now.

Between Cagalli and Athrun, Mu witnessed the love of the two for one another when as Neo he was recuperating and incarcerated in _Archangel's_ sickbay. Although from what he heard that there was a parting between the two - though he generally didn't meddle with other's business, Mu silently hoped that they could get back together once more, for their own sakes.

Murrue was now talking to Erica Simmons, Morgenroete's resident engineering genius. A prime mover in the development with the G project series of mobile suits, which developed and designed Kira and Mu's ill fated Strike among all others, Erica was also assigned to head the overall maintenance of the _Archangel_ and its mobile suit complement when here at the base. Erica and Murrue had grown to become good friends in the two years Murrue worked as 'Maria Vernes' of Morgenroete's shipbuilding division B - her cover during her self-imposed exile in Orb with Kira, Lacus and Andrew Waltfeld.

Mu turned his attention to the Tiger of the Desert, who was offering his real right hand to him. He first met Waltfeld in the battlefields of North Africa as an enemy, when Waltfeld was still ZAFT's ground commander of its forces there. Mu and Waltfeld joined forces with the Three Ships Alliance, which was what the Terminal organization was called then, late in the war, when Waltfeld commanded the stolen _Eternal_ and fought with the _Archangel_ and Orb battlecarrier _Kusanagi_. Mu heard that during the time Mu was thought too have died when the Strike was destroyed at Jachin Due, Waltfeld and Murrue bonded more in friendship and shared loss, Murrue having thought to have lost Mu while Waltfeld grieved over his departed lover and partner, Aisha.

Murrue and Waltfeld got closer in their time together in Orb, and seemed to be in a verge of a deeper relationship. Waltfeld's return to space with Lacus and Mu's subsequent return to the _Archangel _dashed any hope for this, but Mu still harbored some jealous ideas about it. When Murrue heard about this, she laughed it off and assured Mu that it wasn't meant to be, and that she still chose him over Andrew. According to her she and Andrew were no more than friends. At first Mu was skeptical, but his trust and love for her eventually removed the doubts clouding his mind. _We'll most of it_, he admitted to himself, still feeling some lingering jealousy at Waltfeld, as he shook Waltfeld's only remaining natural hand.

Behind Waltfeld stood three other people. The young red haired girl of sixteen with the twin ponytails Mu recognized as Meyrin Hawke. She was exchanging kisses with Lacus now, and the two friends were talking about something he couldn't hear. Mu met her when Meyrin was rescued with Athrun when they tried to escape ZAFT. Athrun protected Meyrin in the ordeal, and in return she helped Athrun recover from his injuries aboard the _Archangel._ From that time on she and Athrun were inseparable. From what he heard that even Cagalli left Athrun to Meyrin's care when the ship left for Copernicus. He had witnessed the young Coordinator's bravery when she accompanied Athrun, Kira and Lacus in their ill-fated attempt to rescue Lacus' double Meer Campbell, where she fought once more in Athrun's side.

Meyrin now works with Lacus as her private secretary and confidante, working out details for the Clyne Foundation, Lacus' work to help support war orphans from the devastated PLANTs and Earth countries, using the fortune his father left for her, the inheritance Cagalli received from the devastated Seiran family after her "marriage" to the ambitious clan's scion, and contributions and donations from helpful friends and acquaintances. Meyrin spends most of the time here on Orb now, not willing to return to PLANT after the embarrassing incident at Gibraltar, even though she had received a full pardon from the colonies' Supreme Council. Mu suspected Meyrin would not leave Orb only because of Athrun, who had returned to his adopted homeland hopefully for good. It was obvious to Mu that Meyrin had feelings for Athrun, but was unsure of her position in Athrun's life.

The next person was a pleasant surprise for him. It was Dearka Elsman, an old comrade from the first war. He stood there silently, in his dark green ZAFT uniform, watching them with a smirk in his face. Mu had first met Dearka in the same circumstances as Waltfeld, as enemies. Dearka, together with Athrun, Yzak Joule and several others, had stolen the prototype mobile suits of the Atlantic Federation from Morgenroete's factory in the Heliopolis Colony, and that incident led to Mu serving on the _Archangel_. Mu battled Dearka who piloted the stolen Buster in several occasions, together with Dearka's commander Rau La Crueset, with whom Mu shared a strange psychic link and who he eventually found out to be the genetic clone of his father, Al Da Flaga.

Dearka was captured and taken prisoner on the _Archangel_ after Kira's supposed death in the Strike's death duel with the Aegis, but eventually joined forces with the crew during the Atlantic Federation's invasion of Orb. Together they helped the Three Ships Alliance end the war. Though Mu knew that Dearka had a budding relationship with _Archangel's_ erstwhile CIC officer and Kira's classmate Miriallia Haww, Murrue told him that the two tried to make things work but eventually broke apart. Mu couldn't confirm this, since Dearka was alone and Miriallia wasn't around. Mu gave the tanned-skinned, golden haired Coordinator a warm handshake as he looked over at the last person.

Mu was stunned to see him, the angry hawk-like red eyes staring at him from under the mass of black hair. He was frowning, as if the frown and his anger a permanent fixture in his boyish but cold visage. Mu had met this person once before, when he returned the weak and barely alive Stellar Louisser back to him after her capture by the _Minerva_. Mu felt guilt for betraying this boy, whom Stellar called Shinn, by breaking the promise he as Neo Lorrnoke gave him to keep Stellar safe, in a place without war or pain, a warm and gentler world. Mu was expecting an outburst from him, but Shinn was not looking at him, nor did he show any signs of recognizing him. Mu traced his cold stare to someone behind him, and was not totally surprised to see that the unwilling object of the stare was Kira.

Apparently everyone else noticed this, and an uneasy silence fell amongst the group. Like himself, Murrue was also gauging Kira's reaction, but to his credit the kid kept his quiet, content to avoid Shinn's stare. Lacus was also watching Kira worriedly, while Athrun's eyes shifted between Kira and the red-eyed pilot. Meyrin looked between angry and scared, and was also trying to avoid the Shinn's stare. Waltfeld, Kisaka and Simmons kept silent, as was a slightly amused and curious Dearka, who knew nothing about this and was waiting for the next thing to happen.

Mu, who was one of the few who fully understood what had happened between Kira and Shinn, decided to act. He understood the boy's hatred for Kira, since it was Kira who killed Stellar when the Freedom destroyed the Phantom Pain's GFAS-X1 Destroy in Berlin. Now they faced each other in person apparently for the first time since the war, and it was developing into a potentially explosive situation. He had to diffuse this bomb before it blew up in their faces. He stepped in front of the boy and offered his hand. "It's nice to meet you again. Shinn, isn't it?"

The boy broke his gaze and looked Mu in the eye, first in confusion of who this person was and then with hate as he recognized the voice behind the face. "Neo." Shinn locked his gaze into his, but Mu held it.

Waltfeld cleared his throat. "Now that we've greeted everyone, let's retire somewhere we can sit down and talk. We have a lot of things to discuss." Kisaka nodded agreement. He eyed Murrue, indicating the need to keep this thing quiet and within themselves.

Murrue picked up the hint quickly. "There's a conference room near the hanger bay on this deck. It's not far from here. We could use that." She started to lead the way, but stopped and eyed Mu to follow.

Mu was about to start, but Shinn moved first. He bumped Mu on his shoulder, and walked passed Kira without acknowledging him, heading down the corridor. For a moment no one moved, until Kira started to follow Shinn. The rest followed afterwards, leaving Mu and Dearka to trail behind.

"Nice way to greet old friends, eh, Old Man?" Dearka said, using the nickname he once used to call Mu.

"_Hai_," Mu answered, as he quietly walked behind the rest. "You could say that."

* * *

Athrun kept silent and just listened as their group discussed the current situation in the _Archangel's_ deck-five conference room. Kira had just completed his intelligence brief for them, filling in the rest of the _Archangel's_ battle with the raiders in space, and the _Minerva's_ arrival to drive the raiders away. The senior officers were now starting to discuss the ramifications of the battle, while the others silently listened.

Kira sat to the left of Murrue-_san_, with Mu-_san_ at the opposite end. Athrun sat beside him, with Dearka at his left. Waltfeld-_san_ was directly opposite him, with Kisaka-_sama_ to the right and Erica-_san_ to his left. Lacus and Meyrin excused themselves from the meeting, to catch up and talk about the activities of the Foundation with Meyrin filling Lacus in with updates. Only Shinn refused to sit down with them around the table. He was stood leaning on the wall near the doorway, seemingly ignoring Kira while he spoke, but Athrun knew that he was listening intently. Athrun had not had the chance to talk to his former Minerva teammate, but he could sense the animosity from him for almost everyone in the room. He was clearly uncomfortable being here – in Orb and helping those he had come to hate the most.

Kisaka was speaking now, addressing the group. "So now the raiders have actively targeted the _Archangel_. They're either lucky to spot you approaching Earth, or they're worried that we might be planning something and had you tailed. They found the chance to hit us and they took it."

The group at looked at one another, sizing up each other reactions to Kisaka's statement. "I'd like to believe they just stumbled upon the ship by chance," Waltfeld spoke up first. "It's scary to think that they were planning to hit us all along."

"But that's a possibility we can't dismiss, Waltfeld-_Shousho_," Athrun insisted, speaking for the first time. "We've all gone up against them, and know how tough and technologically advanced they are. It'll take someone with great will and great resources to mount several attacks like this."

"Yeah, but who?" Mu chimed in. "I don't know if the LOGOS had anymore strike forces like Phantom Pain that can be used this way, and only LOGOS and Blue Cosmos are the only groups radical enough to do this. I should say 'were the only groups', for all intents and purposes they're all dead or imprisoned."

"We can't underscore the chance that some of them must have survived and gone underground." Murrue interjected.

"That's possible," Mu conceded. "But where's the proof?"

Waltfeld glanced over to Kisaka, who shook his head. "We don't have concrete evidence yet, but we do have some promising leads."

"South America," Kira answered.

Kisaka nodded at him. "_Hai_. Like I said in the report I sent out to you days ago, all the clues point to that embattled state. But we can't be sure unless we confirm it."

Murrue sat back straight. "And that's where the _Archangel_ comes in."

"Correct," Kisaka confirmed. "The ship is the only unit Orb can afford to send out to investigate this matter actively as long as it can be done covertly. We can't openly break Orb's neutrality stance with open and direct intervention with military troops in South America." Again Kisaka looked at everyone, but nobody said anything. "We can supply you with everything you need at our disposal, and resupply you using contacts which we can divulge to you for this mission. We'll give you the details once we agree on our course of action."

Athrun turned to Dearka. "What about ZAFT?"

Dearka stretched his arms. "My orders are to act as liaison between the militia and Orb's irregular Special Forces - meaning you guys. As per providing support, ZAFT will only send them on a limited basis only upon positive confirmation and identification of the raiders and their intents and only upon careful consideration by High Command and the Supreme Council. That's how my order sheet read."

Athrun sighed. "Can we do it, _Kanchou_?" he asked Murrue.

Murrue considered it for a moment then turned to Mu. "What do you think, Mr. Impossible?"

Mu grinned roguishly. "Might as well. Nothing better for us to do."

Murrue closed her eyes before she decided. "All right, we'll do it. But we need to make preparations first. We'll need to transfer the mobile suits we have here at the point and get the supplies we'll initially need. And we'll need to meet to finalize our plans. We'll need about three days to prepare everything."

Kisaka nodded. "We'll have everything you'll need for you. In fact I suggest that -"

Athrun's attention to the meeting was broken as he noticed Shinn edging away from the corner, and slip out of the room. Nobody else except for Kira and him seemed to have noticed this until the door hissed close once more. Kira stood up and excused himself, and followed the red-eyed pilot out into the ship's interior.

Waltfeld watched the door close behind Kira. "Don't you think someone should follow those two?" he said, in the direction of Athrun.

Athrun had thought about just that, but decided not too. "I don't think we need too. Kira can handle himself. This is between him and Shinn. I'm not sure I want to get involved."

* * *

Shinn got bored and irritated with all the discussion inside the _Archangel's_ conference room, in which he felt that the conversation was going around in circles and not getting anywhere. He found Yamato's brief informative, even though he wouldn't admit it to anyone else. He still harbored ill feelings towards Yamato and his twin sister, for the deaths of his family and Stellar. But Shinn knew he would have to work with Yamato and his friends eventually, now that he signed up with their group. It was a necessary thing in order for him to achieve his goals. Shinn knew that Athrun recruited him to use his talents, so Shinn would gladly use Athrun's friends for his advantage in return.

He walked silently through the corridors of the _Archangel_, ignoring the looks the regular crew gave to this stranger within their midst. Some thought of accosting him, but didn't in obvious wariness of the aura of anger Shinn was emanating. Shinn thought about looking for Meyrin, to talk to her and explain things. But she had not attended the session, leaving the room with Lacus Clyne, apparently to talk over some business. Meyrin had kept on avoiding speaking with him unless it was really necessary during the time they spent waiting for the _Archangel_ to arrive, and things were bound not to change for the better at the moment.

Shinn eventually reached the end of the corridor, where a hatchway to the main hanger waited to be opened. Shinn opened the door and stepped into the massive hanger. His eyes fell on the wide space, towering more than thirty meters tall, with dozens of crewmen running and working all around to service the mobile suits parked safely on the maintenance gantries. A burly middle age man was barking instructions to the maintenance crews, standing beside a gray mobile suit on one corner of the hanger.

Shinn glanced at the gray suit, taking in its features. He studied its profile, with a growing feeling of recognizance. His heart beat faster as his eyes locked onto the mobile suit's head. His jaw dropped, as he stared at awe at the vision he beheld, one he last saw on that fateful day, when he crashed on the surface of the moon, when Stellar visited him in that aura of pure light, when he cried all the tears that flooded his heart in Luna's loving arms.

Shinn ran towards the sleeping giant, unheeding the surprised yells of the tech crew, finally coming to stand awestruck and scared of its power and vision at its feet. This giant was the physical manifestation of the power that he once possessed, the curse of destiny that he had wanted to give away. This was Gilbert Dullindal's legacy to him; the means to which Shinn made Rey's fervent wishes come true for him; the sword Shinn wielded in confusion and anger.

"Destiny…" Shinn whispered, amazed and awed by the sight

_It looks like Destiny_, he thought; with Shinn being its pilot he could easily recognize the chassis design. But something, no, a lot of things looked different to him. The beam boomerangs remained, but the long ranged beam cannon, folded and hung at the back of the mobile suit, parallel to the storage for the anti-ship beam sword, was gone. A second anti-beam sword replaced it, and Shinn noticed that the sword handles were shorter than he could remember. The anti beam shield was gone too, as was the single beam rifle stored at the back below the thruster backpack. Two rifles replaced it, one different from another, hanging from holders from both sides of the hips. The two wings looked different too, looking longer that it last was. Four Vulcan barrels protruded from the head, as well as four antennae, twice more than the original design.

But the most revealing change in the design was in its head crest. Gone was the '_X-42S DUE_' engraved in the red square, replaced by something more powerful, more mysterious to behold.

X-43A FENIX RENASC 

"_Fenix Renasc_," said a voice from behind him. Shinn spun around, and was met with the eyes of a pink haired woman, who smiling at him, in a kind, sad way.

"Lacus Clyne –"

The Coordinator songstress nodded, then faced the mobile suit. "_'Renaissance Phoenix'_ - the Phoenix Reborn. Just like you, Shinn Asuka, reborn and soaring free from the fires of destiny, because you chose to be here."

Clyne looked up to the dormant giant. "The Destiny Phoenix has been waiting for _you_, Shinn-_san_," Clyne said, turning to face Shinn once more. "It has been waiting for _you_ to be _reborn_."

* * *

On a split-level access way high above one side of the hanger bay, Kira watched silently the unfolding scene below, as Lacus talked to Shinn, standing very still in evident surprise at the sight of the dormant mobile suit.

* * *


	7. Phase Six

_**Author's Notes**:_

_I'd like to give special mention for **irishdragon** and **nick2951** for continuously giving good reviews for each of the chapters of Renaissance. I am grateful for your words of support and I hope you won't grow tired of my humble tale._

_It took me a long time to finish this chapter. It's been a hectic week for me, with a long vacation week facing me come Halloween in my country. I've been stuck with work and could only write in stolen moments. So if some of the thread may sound lacking or stale, I ask for your patience. I don't know if I could update again until the second week of November, but I will try do some work on the next chapter this week._

_I got some more Shiho for you all. I'd like to work on her character more and hopefully I could do a good job. Shiho's character was developed for singer Tamaki Nami, like Miguel Ayman and Heine Westenfluss was for TM Revolution. But Ms. Tamaki didn't accept the role, and that's the reason why Shiho didn't have any dialogue and limited background appearances in Destiny._

_I like to warn those who have enjoyed my canon-based tale, that things may be a little AU from now on, especially on the topic of the rebellion of the USSA against the Atlantic Federation. As you well know by now that a major portion of events in the story will revolve around territories and the politics of the USSA. I am presuming that the rebellion continues, although some GS Astray sources indicate that the rebellion ended after the conclusion of the Battle of Messiah and the Second Bloody Valentine War. Since I haven't really read the Astray stories I can't confirm the sources so I will run with the continuing conflict there. But whether I can confirm the information or not, rest assured that I will remain true to the other canon facets of the Gundam SEED saga._

_Have you guys noticed how fast growing the Gundam SEED story category is? That's a good sign. It means more and more people are enjoying the series and are writing their fanfics about it. Let's keep it up._

_SEED mode on!

* * *

_

_**Disclaimers: **_

_Mobile Suit Gundam SEED is owned and copyrighted by Mitsuo Fukuda, the Sotsu Agency, Sunrise and BANDAI.

* * *

_

**Phase Six: Confrontations**

* * *

_**Hanger Bay**_

**_Archangel _**

**_Angel's Point _**

**_Orb Union_**

_**December 28, CE 74**_

"_Destiny Phoenix_-"

"_Hai," _replied Lacus Clyne, as Shinn studied the mobile suit that stood silently over them. "ZAFT salvaged the remains of the Destiny during the mopping up operations after the battle with _Messiah_. But the High Command was reluctant to rebuild it, what with its past history as a tool of war used by Dullindal."

"ZAFT tried to dispose of the salvaged parts, but they got _misplaced_ during the disposal, as with the case of the Gaia," Clyne remarked, the not so veiled hint of how deep was the capability of Clyne's group to acquire the things they needed for their operations wasn't lost to Shinn. He was impressed at the ability the Terminal to acquire Stellar's Gaia, so he was not surprised that the Destiny was acquired by the Terminal too. "Eventually we got hold of it, and had them sent to Terminal's factory satellite."

"The technicians and engineers at the factory tried to do their best to completely rebuild the Destiny, but they said that certain parts were quite unique to the design and very difficult to acquire. So they did much modification to the original design, hence the changes you've noticed so far. Chief Murdoch could better fill you in on the technical specifications." Clyne glanced over to the burly middle-age man whom Shinn noticed earlier, who was now walking towards them.

The man nodded at Shinn in greeting. "So _you're_ the pilot of the Destiny eh, kid?" The tech gave him a quick look-over, before handing him a data disc. Here's the technical manual the satellite's people updated for it. It notes down all the modifications to the mobile suit. But I'll run through the basics for you to make things simpler." Clyne stood to one side, letting the tech talk, while keeping her eyes trained on Shinn.

Shinn tried to cut him off, not really wanting to have this discussion, but Murdoch beat him to the draw. "First off, the guys at the factory had problems with the ultra-compact hyper deuterion fission reactor - that was the biggest problem they had to hurdle. There wasn't any around available for replacement, since this was new tech and only a few were ever built. The only ones we knew about was the one that powered this suit, that one was damaged beyond repair, while the other was lost when its mobile suit was destroyed with the _Messiah_." Shinn had a sudden image of the Legend, his friend Rey's mobile suit, in his mind.

Shinn's heart ached with the memory of Rey, who was his best and closest friend all through the Academy and his service on the _Minerva_. Although he had Luna after the war, his personal relationship with the red-haired pilot was different from the companionship he missed from Rey. These thoughts were running through his head as the loud voice of the tech woke him from his musings.

"Anyway, as I was saying, the folks up on the factory decided to acquire a new hyper-deuterion reactor from some folks in ZAFT – don't ask me as to how they got one, since from what I know they're very rare and well guarded. Must have had a generous friend there," the tech added, chuckling to himself. "They've installed an additional hyper capacitor system to augment the original one that should increase the power production of the reactor by as much as thirty-percent. They copied the design from the original, which was left almost perfectly intact after you crashed ion the moon. The upgraded reactor should increase your range and energy supply in battle. The new setup required modifications to the internal systems, thus the stockier look of the chest area."

"The techs also modified the 'Wings of Light' system; they retained the mirrage colloid hologram projectors, and increasing the length and width of the wings." The tech was pointing at the large pair of red wings that sprouted from the mobile suit's backpack. "But the propulsion system was removed; the techs said that in simulations the system drained a lot more energy when used as a propulsion system. Though your stealth defenses have been upgraded, it came at the sacrifice of the wings' unorthodox drive system. The technicians have compensated this lack of maneuverability by adding small vernier thrusters all over the body, shoulders, legs and feet. The test shows that maneuverability has been matched by almost eighty-five percent from the original designs, with a forty percent reduction in power consumption."

The tech gestured continuously at the mobile suit, while reading off from the manual. "There are some changes in the weapons. It says here that they kept the two 'Palmina Focina' hand beams, the 'Flash Edge' beam boomerangs and the light wave barrier projectors, but dropped the original beam rifle and the anti-beam shield. They removed the big beam cannon on the left side of the backpack," the tech pointed to the mobile suit's left side, "replaced the beam sword with two shorter ones, based on the specs of the Strike Rouge's IWSP swords. This would allow you to wield two beam swords instead of one, and the two weapons can be joined to form a single two-sided weapon."

"They've equipped two rifles for the suit. The one hanging on the right hip is a modified MA-M1911 beam rifle like the one the Infinite Justice carries, while the one on the left is a prototype MA-MR095 rail gun. See the feed assembly stretching from the butt of the gun to the backpack?" the tech indicated the long metal feed system snaking behind the mobile suit. "The feed system increases the ammunition a standard rail gun can carry, at the smaller, more wieldable size. They've also doubled the number of the CIWS guns on the head, for added anti-missile protection."

"All we need now is for you to update the OS, kid. We didn't have the time to tackle it on the way here. That'll be up to you," the tech finished with a smirk.

Shinn's eyes grew smaller as he glared at the tech. "Who said that I'll do that for you? I never said I wanted to get on that thing anymore."

"Eh?"

"I'm not going to be forced to fight for your benefit," Shinn remarked. "Give it to Yamato - he's the biggest _murderer_ in your bunch."

"That's not true, Shinn-_san_," Clyne spoke up. "Kira is _not_ a murderer."

"How would _you_ know that, Clyne?" Shinn countered. "Don't tell me he hasn't killed anyone."

Clyne lowered her eyes. "It's true he has killed in war. But he never really wanted to-"

"Whatever you say to me won't change the _fact_ that he is still a _murderer_!" Shinn shouted out, drawing terrified gasps from Clyne and the tech. "He _killed_ my sister Mayu and my parents at Onogoro! He _killed_ the Chairman, Gladys-_Kanchou_ and Rey, my best friend, on the _Messiah_! _He killed Stellar!" _Shinn paused, breathing heavily, as the anger and hate burned from his body. "He has taken away _everything_ in my life from me."

The tension in the hanger bay had risen tenfold as everyone in the bay stopped what they have been working on to listen in on the exchange. The burly chief tech took a step back, alarmed at Shinn's vehemence. He motioned for security to come forward before opening his comlink to say something into it.

* * *

"_Kanchou_, we've got a situation down here at the hanger bay."

Athrun looked up at the worried sound of Chief Murdoch's voice. He listened as Murrue-_san_ answered the call. "What is it, chief?"

"Well it's that new kid. He's shouting at Ms. Clyne and he's _pissed_. Better send Athrun-_san_ down here."

Athrun let out a curse as he stood up and rushed for the door before Murrue-_san_ could speak, with Flaga-_Taisa_ and Dearka trailing him. _Dammit! What the hell is he thinking?_ Athrun wondered in frustration, as he dashed down the corridors towards the hanger bay.

* * *

"Kira _never_ wanted that to happen," Clyne was saying, almost pleading to Shinn. "He didn't know that he killed your family. He probably never even fired the shot! He never killed the three on the _Messiah_. And he only had to strike down your friend because she was about to fire on you."

"How _dare_ you defend that murderer," Shinn said accusingly. "Why are you _protecting_ him? Were _you_ part of his killing spree too?"

Clyne's eyes was widening in shock. Tears began welling underneath them. "But Shinn-"

"It's alright, Lacus."

Shinn and everyone else turned to the direction of the voice, and Shinn was surprised to see Yamato striding purposely towards them. He stopped at Clyne's side and gently held her on her shoulders. "It's alright. He didn't mean what he said."

Shinn snorted derisively. "What makes you think that I _didn't_ mean it, Yamato? You heard it all. And you know its all true."

Yamato looked at him with his purple eyes. Shinn saw in them that rather than being angry at him, they were filled with pity and sadness. "Some of what you said maybe true, Shinn, or that I may have had a hand in them, but not everything you said or believe is the truth."

Shinn bristled. "You're calling me a liar then?" He took a step forward threateningly.

"No, Shinn," Yamato responded. "Only that you _misunderstood_ things."

Shinn smiled evilly. "I understand two things very clearly now, Kira Yamato - you're a murderer and Clyne's a fool to ever have faith in you."

Yamato's eyes narrowed slightly. "You can insult me all you want, Shinn, and I wouldn't care. But don't you _dare_ drag Lacus into this vendetta of yours. She hasn't done anything to you. This is only between you and me."

"Or _what_?" Shinn cut the brown haired Coordinator off. "You'll kill _me_ too?" He chuckled. "You've tried before and you failed, and you'll never succeed."

Clyne clung tightly onto Yamato's arm. "Kira -"

Shinn saw Athrun and Meyrin come running into the hanger, followed by Neo and Elsman. Athrun was looking confused at the confrontation. "What's going on here? Stop it, Shinn -" he was about to go on, but Yamato raised a hand to silence him.

Yamato stared at him silently, and Shinn held his gaze. They stood in silence for some time, before Yamato lowered his gaze and sighed. "What must I do to make you understand that only _tears_ will come from this vendetta of yours, Shinn?" Yamato looked straight at him once more, sadness clearly showing in his face. "Those we love will cry and will hate the one that kills the other. And they will be satisfied only with vengeance. That cycle of suffering will never end unless we learn to forgive one another."

Shinn felt as if he was punched in the face, Yamato's words a blow to his vindictive pride. He knew deep inside that Yamato's words rang true, and he saw both Stellar's and Luna's faces covered with tears and anguish should his vendetta eventually takes his own life - and the determination in their faces to face the dangers to avenge him. But his hate overtook all reason. Shinn looked away, and started to walk away from Yamato and Clyne in the opposite direction. Some crewman started to move to block his way, but the icy stare from him and a silent command from Neo stopped them.

He turned his head before he reached the exit way. "Do you remember that day I met you at the cemetery on Orb, Yamato? That day I told you that flowers will only be blown away. _You_ blew away all the flowers in my life, Yamato. I don't _care_ if the cycle goes on forever. I _will_ get my revenge. Someday we will settle this, I _swear_. You took my life away. I'll take _yours_ as in return."

* * *

Athrun was still confused about what had just happened. He didn't catch the start of the argument, but was glad he got there in time to see it end without anyone hurt. Not that his presence really mattered - it seemed that Kira handled the situation well enough. But judging from the scared look in Lacus' face, things could have been worse.

"What was that?" Athrun demanded Kira, just after the hatch closed behind Shinn. His best friend just shrugged, but Athrun wasn't taking it. "Don't just shake this off, Kira. You _know_ that he wants you _dead_."

Kira sighed. "I know that Athrun, but I just wanted to talk to him." He watched as Lacus was led away helped by Meyrin. "He gave Lacus a hard time, and I happened to hear it," Kira said, as he faced his friend. "I didn't want to pick a fight. Just talk to him."

Athrun hung his head wearily. "Look, Kira, Shinn's not going to be easy to reason with. Even if some things that he believes aren't true, he's too stubborn or hateful to accept the truth. He's been hurt a lot. His wounds run too deep to heal quickly." Athrun paused, reluctant to continue. "And you know that he thinks you were always involved, even though you didn't pull the trigger."

"What should I do?" his best friend asked, in a tone that sounded with desperation.

Athrun stared at the closed hatch. "Let him be for the moment, and I'll go talk to him when things simmer down. He's still confused about everything. I haven't told you yet, but Shinn had a different reason why he joined us, because I just found out the other day from Waltfeld-_Taichou_," he said looking Kira straight in the eye. "Someone sent him an email with a picture of a woman assassin shooting someone in a crowded protest rally. Analysts are going over the image, but they said that the picture was shot a couple of months ago in Peru and doesn't look like a manufactured fake."

"And,"

"And Shinn believes that the woman is _Stellar Louisser_, the pilot of the Destroy that attacked Berlin. Or at least she looks like Stellar. The analysts, in turn, seem to agree with him."

Kira's eyes widened. "But I-"

"I know, Kira. We both know you _killed_ her." Athrun shook his blue hair tiredly. "I ran it by La Flaga-_Taisa_ after you left the meeting to follow Shinn. He confirms that it was Stellar who piloted the Destroy and that he _too_ thought she was killed. He's as confused as we are. But then, given La Flaga-_Taisa_ weird circumstance after the first war, we can't discount the fact that Stellar might still be alive somewhere," Athrun paused to let his words sink in. "Or, it could be another person entirely."

Kira nodded. "So Shinn joined us to find this woman, whoever she turns out to be."

"_Hai_," Athrun confirmed. "And knowing Shinn, he'll do everything in his power to find her, and he won't hesitate to _kill_ any of us if we get in his way."

* * *

_**Royal Hospital of Oslo**_

_**Oslo City**_

_**Kingdom of Scandinavia**_

_**December 28, CE 74**_

Cagalli was reading some documents brought by the Orb ambassador to Scandinavia that early evening, helped along by a staffer from the embassy when the chief of her security detail walked in after knocking. "Excuse me, Chief Representative, but Shiho Hahnenfuss of PLANT Councilor Joule's staff is here to see you. Should I let her in?"

She nodded. "Please do." Cagalli flattened out the hospital gown she wore, and carefully sat straighter on her bed. She smiled as the red-haired Coordinator came hobbling in on a crutch through the door and waved at her. Cagalli silently dismissed the embassy staffer, who nodded respectfully to her and her visitor on the way out, quietly closing the door behind her.

Cagalli rubbed her scar as she gently stood up to sit on a chair beside her bed. Shiho regarded her with a lifted eyebrow. "Aren't you supposed to stay in bed, Chief Representative?"

Cagalli grinned mischievously. "I'm supposed too, _if_ I follow the doctors' orders, but I am getting stiff from all that lying down. And I hate being pushed around in that thing," Cagalli pointed at a folded wheelchair in one corner. "Better get used to moving around again on two feet."

Shiho gazed at Cagalli's side. "But your stitches - won't they open up?"

Cagalli shrugged, grateful at Shiho's concern. "It's all right. The doctors removed them yesterday. I just have to be careful moving around."

She had grown to trust the female Coordinator in the few times they talked when she visits her in her room. Cagalli found her to be a nice person, very intelligent and very articulate. That and he fact the Shiho risked her life to bring her to safety during the attack permanently placed her in Cagalli's list of friends. They talked a lot about what had happened to them and to Orb, about Athrun and Yzak, especially about Yzak's current state of health. Although safe and stable, the temperamental Councilman was not adjusting well to his injuries. Shiho, on the other hand, was the least seriously injured between them, except for a large cut on her forehead, a broken left wrist, and a broken right tibia.

"How's your patient?" Cagalli asked, knowing Shiho will get what she meant.

Shiho had personally taken supervision for Yzak's convalescence, and is stubborn enough to match and stare down Yzak's temper. From what she told Cagalli, she was slowly conditioning Yzak mentally to face the cybernetic surgery for his amputated left lower leg that Yzak lost when parts of a concrete pillar fell on it. Though the leg was lost from below the knee down, cybernetic surgery would replace the limb, and the newer technologies in the field and a strict physical therapy regimen should allow him to walk normally once more in a month or two, even allowing him to probably pilot again, depending on the success of the surgery and the rehabilitation.

"I've successfully _suckered_ him into fully agreeing to the surgery without his ridiculous conditions," Shiho reported to Cagalli with complete satisfaction and relief. From what Shiho had related to her Yzak was certainly stubborn - requesting outrageous things as mummifying his amputated leg, to allowing him to shoot the doctor for cutting it off, to threatening to burn down the hospital if they didn't remove the IV lines stuck into his arms.

Cagalli grinned. "I figure that's a great relief for you, Shiho."

"You can bet on that," Shiho said as he flopped into a vacant chair. "So how are you doing, Cagalli?"

Cagalli touched the bandaged scar. "It still hurts when I move around, but I can take it." Cagalli scratched her cheeks. "The thing is I am getting restless just lying here. I asked the doctors if I could be released and allowed to fly back home. They said that maybe in a week, if I heal well enough. But I don't want to stay here anymore." Cagalli took in the clean white hospital room. "I want to go home. I'm worried about what's happening there."

"I understand," Shiho said. "I know the news networks don't show the entire picture, but from what they've broadcast, Orb took a bigger blow that what happened here. But the Royal Government must be in near collapse from the attack here. Not only are world leaders dead or injured, but they've lost the king and queen as well." Rescue teams had recovered the remains of the royal couple two days after the attack. Immediately the country went into a state of mourning for the deceased leaders. Although the crown prince was rescued alive, he was still in a coma resulting from his injuries, which included a lost left eye. Things were not so bad for the PLANTs, with the survival of Chairman Westenfluss, but the Atlantic Federation's President was listed among the missing victims.

"Things are so bad here now." Cagalli gazed out of the room's window. "Why did this happen?"

"I wished I knew the answer, your Highness," Shiho replied. She limped over and stood by the window. "Where's your friend?"

Cagalli blinked. "Oh. You mean Athrun?" Shiho nodded. "He had to go back. He's helping out in the investigation of the attack and SAR operations." Cagalli played absentmindedly with her fingers. "He wanted to get involved."

Shiho was nodding. "That sounds like Athrun Zala, alright."

Cagalli looked at Shiho questioningly. "How do you know Athrun? Did you guys serve together or something?"

"No - although Yzak told me a lot about him. He's talked about Athrun like he was jealous or frustrated about him or something. Jealous that Athrun got into FAITH so easily or frustrated that Athrun didn't do much in his service with ZAFT. But mostly I heard about Athrun from Lacus."

Cagalli blinked again. "You know Lacus?"

Shiho nodded with a smirk. "I guess she never told you, but Lacus and I were classmates and good friends before the war. We stayed close, until I got busy with the R&D teams for mobile suit designers and eventually enlisted. She started concentrating on her singing career and her diplomatic work, and we lost contact. Next thing I heard she was leading that revolt against Athrun's father and was branded a traitor. Then Athrun joins her and they help finish the first war with you. Then they disappeared. But I'm not surprised that they showed up in Orb. And I'm not surprised they broke up and Athrun's with _you_ now."

The matter-of-fact way that Shiho said her last sentence made Cagalli blush. "Oh and I forgive you, by the way," Shiho added with a grin, while looked over flowers on a vase on a corner table.

"For what?" Cagalli asked, getting more and more confused.

"For shooting me down at Jachin Due."

"_What!_ Are you serious? How are you sure it was _me_?" Cagalli demanded.

Shiho plucked a flower from the arrangement and sat on one end of Cagalli's bed. "I was part of Yzak's team, piloting a CGUE Deep Arms then. We intercepted the three Earth Alliance aces escorting their nuclear strike group when your group arrived on your way to Genesis. You damaged my mobile suit with your Strike Rouge. I wasn't hurt though. I limped back to one of the ships nearby."

"Wow," Cagalli exclaimed, caught in surprise from what Shiho had related to her. "I didn't know-"

Shiho held up her hand. "Like I said, I forgive you. I was pissed at the time, but that's ancient history."

"Thanks." Cagalli said. "I hope we never have to go through that again - fighting one another I mean."

Shiho stretched and massaged her cast foot. "Amen to that. I just hope somebody does something to stop those terrorists before more harm can be done and things get out of control."

Cagalli turned serious. "Oh I think _somebody_ will do something soon." Her eyes met Shiho's, who was giving her a questioning stare that Cagalli silently ignored.

* * *

_**Raider Base**_

_**Location Unknown**_

_**December 28, CE 74**_

The constant repetition of the knife fighting drills was eroding Solar's attention. She knew she had to go through this, to assure that her brain and body could automatically move with the grace and power of the martial art. Solar was doing the patterns fluidly, evidence of the constant training she had with the curved ZAFT combat knife she used. She favored the archaic weapon over firearms; with the knife she could use her body more effectively as a weapon, harnessing her power to bring death with the killing blade. But she wanted to begin with the actual dueling, so that she could measure how her skills will hold in actual combat.

At last the patterns were completed, and the instructor called for a halt. She breathed heavily at the break, the sweat glistening from her smooth skin, drenching wet the gray tank top and jogging pants she wore for the training. The twenty or so fighters stepped to the sides of the training floor, as the instructor called out for volunteers to fight. Solar immediately stepped forward, and stood on the center. She watched those around him for an opponent, and was pleasantly surprised to see Leva take her challenge.

She knew him to be an excellent fighter. The light green haired boy was a competent member of their organization, a skilled pilot of their Wraith mobile suits. Leva had the air of constant amusement around him, as if he was gladdened by everything Nature had created in this world. He was intelligent, brave and funny, and had always a smile for Solar when they spoke. But underneath his gentle face was the cunning mind of a cold killer, a warrior who would not hesitate to kill. He was smiling at her as he stepped forward to the center. They were about to bow to each other when another boy, this with light brown hair, grabbed Leva by the shoulder and pulled him away from the floor.

"I will fight her," Naki said to his brother. The younger sibling gave Naki a quizzical look, but the older one had already turned his back on him. Naki stared coldly at Solar, who was flexing here arms for the coming fight. Naki was the more aggressive of the siblings, and preeminently rougher and harder in manners. He was the equal to Leva in fighting skills, but Naki was the more tenacious. While Leva was quiet and contemplative, Naki showed his feeling by sheer coldness and violence. Naki made no further movements, nor did he bow in response to Solar's. He immediately launched himself at her once she lifted her head, and Solar had to block a fast and dangerous slash aimed at her throat with a quick upward thrust of his left hand.

Solar had to step back, while Naki proceeded into his fighting stance. Solar countered with the stance of her own, and the two began to circle clockwise, waiting for the first move.

Solar shifted her weight between both feet, raising her hands and moving them supple in front of her. He movements were dance-like, both for rhythm's sake and give an air of unpredictably for her opponent. Naki was more sedate, content of just moving neutrally, revealing nothing from his ready stance.

Solar tensed as she kept her eye on any slight change of movement from Naki. She wanted to bait him into striking first, so that she could move with an effective counterattack. Solar let her movements become broader, slower to invite his attack. She felt Naki knew this, but the male knife fighter did not care. He was bigger that she was, and Solar knew that even with the broader built Naki could move as fast as her.

He did her the favor of the first move, a quick snap punch with the left hand for her face. Solar blocked it with a backhanded flip. Naki's hand recoiled like a snake and snapped back like a jab. Solar ducked her head aside.

Solar dropped to her left as the knife on Naki's right hand slashed like lightning through the air, barely missing her neck. She tried a counter move, lunging out with her right leg for a snap kick. She aimed her strike at the left side of his attacker's face, but the brown-haired man blocked it away with a push from his left arm. Solar adjusted her balance once more

Her opponent was pushing it, taking this training exercise to extreme. Although it was uncommon for someone to get hurt in these kinds of exercises, some even killed, it was avoided. While it was common in the early stages of Extended training that deaths occurred, Adam wanted to avoid this, with the limited number of qualified Extended left in their group. So Solar was surprised why Naki was really aggressive.

Solar stepped away from him, gauging the range of her reach from his. Naki struck once more with the same first move, and Solar blocked it the same way. But Naki followed immediately with a backhand slash with the knife that Solar had to stop cross armed. Having kept her attention on his hands, Naki spun around with his left leg stiffening for a sweeping heel-kick to her head.

She dropped to the ground split-legged. The straight leg passed harmlessly over him. Naki had to correct his footing to regain his stance and moved away to defend from any counter move from Solar. But the blonde girl just smiled at him, a calculated move to get him angrier. Solar was satisfied to see her opponent's eyes expand at her irritating move.

Naki took one step forward and launched himself into the air. He raised his leg once more to drop on her with a axe-kick. He though that he had Solar corned on the floor, but she countered by back flipping away. As Naki landed, she pushed out with her left foot and lunged with the knife, but Naki caught her with a reverse kick to the face.

Solar landed several feet away from him, the sudden force of the blow overpowering her forward momentum. She had barely enough time to shake off the pain to roll out of the way of Naki, whose knife sliced down to the spot where she once was a second ago, and struck the matted floor.

Solar gracefully lifted herself off the floor with a arm assisted leap, and went back to her ready stance. She was thinking through what tactics too use against Naki, who was taking his aggressiveness to dangerous levels. She felt he was ready to kill her without hesitation, and she knew she had to reciprocate with the same force to survive this fight. She was about to decide what to do when Naki struck once more.

Naki feinted for Solar's belly then jumped straight up, aiming a crescent kick for her temple. Once more she screwed herself to ground again, under his attack. When he came down, she continued her spinning motion, lashing out with a kick meant to sweep his from under Naki as he came down landing. This tactic was a favorite of hers, and it left Naki especially vulnerable.

But Solar's strike cut air. He launched himself straight up the instant he stepped on the floor. Solar tried to strike out with the blade, but Naki twisted inverted in the air and grabbed her wrist. He flexed the wrist, twisting it and forcing Solar to loosen her grip on the knife. Naki's momentum dragged Solar down, and he spun as he landed on the floor, making Solar drop down facing the matting. Naki raised his knife, and was about to strike down death on Solar.

A flash ignited in the air as a spinning knife cut skin and drew blood from Naki's flesh. He dropped his knife from his bloodied hand, and cried in agony. He dropped to the floor beside Solar, freeing her from his death grip.

Slowly Solar got up to kneel on one leg. She looked around to find the source of the thrown blade, and was shocked to see everyone else look to the direction of Leva. He had stepped forward from the pack, in a stance that hinted his aimed throw. Leva rushed forward and caught Solar, who was still dizzy with pain. "Are you alright?" he said.

Confused, she looked at him. "Why did you do that?"

Leva glanced at his brother, who was grabbing his hand, writhing in pain. "What he was doing was wrong. He overstepped the bounds."

"But he's your brother-"

Leva smiled at her. "I know. But he has to know the limits. Or else he'll end up out of control."

The crowd had surged towards Leva and the combatants, some helping the green-haired Extended lift Solar off her feet while others converged on the injured Naki. But Naki pushed them all aside and started to lunge on his brother, shouting curses and eyeing him with a look that could kill. Things were about to go out on control when a cold voice of command cut through the chaos.

"_Stop!"_

Everyone turned to the direction of the voice. Solar saw Adam walk towards them, anger evident in his body language. The crowd parted, and let their commander pass. He stood in between Stellar and brothers, and stared at them coldly.

"Naki, Leva and Solar, follow me. I expect no more foolishness from now on." With that Adam strode away, expecting them to follow.

Naki pried himself loose from the others and followed behind Adam, sparing glances of hatred for Solar and his brother. He whispered something as he passed Leva, which made him stiffen.

Solar stepped beside him. "What did he say?"

"Nothing, Solar," Leva answered. "It's just something between me and my brother." Leva walked slowly behind Naki, leaving Stellar to think about what was going on between the twins.

* * *

Delia looked up at Adam as the gray-haired warrior entered the briefing room. He was followed by Naki, who was grabbing a bleeding hand wrapped in a bloodstained towel, his brother Leva, who looked troubled, as was Solar, who mirrored the green-haired boy. The three Extended pilots stood at attention in front of the table, as Adam sat beside the young Isis.

Delia was still wary about the reason their master's daughter was here. Adam told her when he arrived with Isis that the girl was there to join them, but the look Adam gave made her sense that he wanted her nowhere in their midst. At first Delia wondered why Adam was bothered, but when she saw the bald man accompanying the young girl, she understood Adam's troubles.

So Delia tolerated Isis' presence, with the knowledge that not only was she here to strut around, but that her companion was here to report back to the master their movements. It was the testament on how much the master may have trusted them, sending his most trusted lieutenant to observe Adam's operations.

Adam nodded for a tech to open the holoscreen, and started the meeting. "I will be brief. We have pinpointed the location of the items we will acquire. It is located in a storage hanger on the south end of the port facilities. It will be heavily guarded by infantry, with quick responding forces from the mobile suit platoon stationed here." Adam pointed at a holographic representation of the facility in question. "As we have talked about in our previous planning sessions, we shall conduct a pre-strike ocular recon of the area. We will use the information we gather to reinforce our current data. Am I understood?" The Extended confirmed by nodding.

"I have a request to allow Isis and her friend here to accompany us on this mission, and my answer is a flat no." Isis' eyes were bulged with anger and she was about to protest but Adam cut him off with a raised hand. The bald man kept silent and said not a word. "I will _not_ allow anyone who has not trained with us for this mission to accompany us. Your presence will not be required, nor will be of any help. You will be a _liability_ if you join us since you don't now what we intend to do and the actions we are going to take. The mission called for a small team to minimize security risks. Your presence will just increase it."

"We will leave in two days time, flying to the target. We will rendezvous with our equipment the day after we arrive, which should give us enough to time to complete our recon. You all know the targets and I expect to complete the mission without any major mistakes. We hit the target, take the items and withdraw."

Again Isis was about to protest, but once more Adam cut her off. "Everyone is dismissed."

"Again, Adam, you amaze me with your _candor_." Delia spoke up for the first time as the door closed behind the last one to step out of the room, leaving her and Adam alone to speak.

"Is it important, mother, that I should act like a caring individual to them, when what we will do demands ruthlessness?" Adam asked. "No, I acted properly. To my pilots and to that _brat_ and her bodyguard."

Delia sighed. "Do not underestimate Isis and her companion. He is the Pharaoh's hatchet man. He is here for a reason."

Adam nodded. "And that is another reason why I did not let them go with us. I don't appreciate the fact that the master wants me _watched_."

"Be wary with your words-"

"Don't you _dare_ think that I am _careless_, woman!" Adam shouted. "I know what I am doing. That is why I am ordering you to keep an eye on them. Monitor their movements carefully, especially the hatchet man. I don't want them meddling in my business."

Adam stood and started to leave. "That will be your primary concern while I am gone, Doctor. And I would like you to study some files the master has given me. I have left it in my office. You will know which one it is when you see it."

Delia was intrigued. "It is something I know well?"

Adam smiled as opened the door. "Very well indeed, _mother_." The door closed behind him, leaving Delia alone in the room brimming with curiosity with what Adam revealed.

* * *

_**Forward Deployment Base**_

_**USSA Army**_

_**Twelve Miles East of Manaus**_

_**Amazonas Sector**_

_**Brazil State**_

**_United States of South America_**

_**December 28, CE 74**_

Scott Hinomura took little sips from his steaming cup of coffee as he and Gunny warmed themselves with the fire from the small camping stove and watched as Michael gave William a verbal chewing. They had just come back from their ambush mission a little less than an hour ago after the entire team joined up in their rendezvous point. They were just relaxing and going through their debriefing. What he thought would be a quiet, uneventful debrief was turning into one of _Shousa_ Michael Ward's rages.

Although Scott and Gunny both agreed that their mission was generally successful, their commander evidently did not share their view. Michael thought that William's clumsiness almost cost them the mission, and was giving the harassed youngster a harsh reprimand. Scott thought that Michael was being too hard with the youngest member of their platoon, but Gunny told him to let him be. "Let him vent his anger, Scott. And Willy can learn a lesson or two about being careful," the grizzled veteran warrior said. Scott had acquiesced to his old friend, but didn't necessarily agree with him.

Scott regarded the small group of men he had lived and served with in this jungle for the last two years. It was remarkable that a Coordinator like himself could join forces with these three Naturals in a fight for a cause they all shared. They all agreed that the Atlantic Federation was wrong in annexing the USSA, who did not share their anti-Coordinator sentiments. Though they all came from different backgrounds, they all shared a common bond between them that brought them into this hidden and wild conflict; Michael, William and Scott all shared friendships with the middle-aged Gunny Beldezi.

In between sips of the bitter Brazilian brew, Scott thought about how someone like himself, a civilian Coordinator mobile engineer, with no practical combat training whatsoever, could end up enlisting into a jungle war. Sure, he did work for the Asimov Group that developed ZAFT's first generation mobile suits as a first- and second-stage test pilot in the prototypes' initial test runs, but he never really used a mobile suit in combat, until now. It all started when he met Gunny before the wars, when both men studied for their master's degree in advanced robotics in the United Nations University in France. When Scott began piloting the experimental work suits they were working on for their thesis, Gunny remarked to Scott that he had the knack with these man-made behemoths. Scott was skeptical at first, but came to accept the fact that he was good at what he does, regardless if it was natural skill or genetically enhanced talent stemming from his Coordinator genes. He privately wondered how he would have done if he ever did enlist with ZAFT in the war, and found the chance when the just defected Gunny approached him two months after the first war, recruiting him to join their group down in the fight for freedom of the USSA.

Master Sergeant Noah 'Gunny' Beldezi was a strange character. Rough and tough looking, with broad shoulders and a long white handlebar mustache that contrasted with his chocolate brown skin, he styled himself like a rowdy street biker, wearing bandanas to cover his bald head, dark sunglasses and leather pants and vest. But behind the tough guy façade was one of the brightest intellects Scott has ever known. Gunny was the group tactical genius, his grasp of mobile suit warfare unmatched by no one on both sides of the fighting. He championed for aggressive tactics that called for close in diving attacks with aerial mobile suits, using speed and flying height to maximize an attack. He had the innate talent for maximizing their advantages and minimizing their disadvantage in combat, often resulting in spectacular successes in their missions for the freedom fighters.

Gunny was born in this wild rainforest, on a small village lying twenty-miles to the west of their camp. Nothing remained of the small cluster of homes now, a victim to a Atlantic Federation bombing mission early into the rebellion. Gunny was lucky to have relocated his family deeper to the south, and they survived the massacre of the remaining inhabitants of the community at that time. Gunny decided not to return to the OMNI Enforcer, where he served as a mobile suit combat instructor, and defected to the rebels. He also began contacting those he trusted to share his sentiments regarding the evils of the Blue Cosmos-controlled Federation, and recruited those like them who were willing to join in the fight for equality and independence of the Naturals and Coordinators living in harmony within the USSA.

William Bartley was one of those who joined, but he came without being recruited. He just came along for the ride when then _Tai-I_ Michael Ward came over from the OMNI Enforcer after resigning his commission after the massacre of Berlin. William was happy-go-lucky young surfer kid of seventeen from Honolulu who just entered the Atlantic Federation military two years ago for a life of adventure. He opted for training in the Mobile Suit branch, where he fell under the tutelage of Gunny as his training sergeant.

Reckless, hot-dogging and at times completely clueless of what he was doing in a mobile suit, Gunny reluctantly passed him as a pilot, where it not for his natural talent as a pilot like Scott has. So to put some sense into the kid Gunny recommended that he'd be assigned to a tough disciplinarian, and his old student Michael Ward got saddled with the crazy teenager. Under Michael's wing William learned to be more responsible and disciplined as a military man, and the older _Tai-I _saved the kid's ass more than once during the second war. It instilled in him a strong bond of friendship and loyalty to the serious officer, and William never hesitated to join him when Ward suddenly left the military and surfaced a month later as a freedom fighter with the USSA.

And now William was striving to survive another one of Michael's stern lectures on how the wise-assed William should perform.

And then there was Michael Adrian Luvon Ward, the serious and temperamental commander of the Twenty-First Platoon, a catalyst that brought this rag-tag bunch together. Michael was handsome man, with gray penetrating eyes underneath that neatly cut blonde hair. Tall, firmly built like a Prussian military officer of all, he commanded respect and admiration from those around him. But all the charisma in his physical features disappears with the cold stare of grief and hatred that haunted his eyes. Added to his burning obsession to avenge the loss of his wife and one child at Berlin, Michael looks more than avenging demon rather than the dashing knight that once earned him the moniker 'Lancelot' during his days with the Atlantic Federation mobile corps.

From the stories about him the Gunny told to Scott, Michael was more like William before the wars. Gunny remembered the young Ward when, like William, he came under the grizzled drill sergeant's command. He was brash and confident in his abilities, with an air of aristocracy borne from being raised in luxury by powerful parents, a father who was the owner and CEO of a major player in the arms industry, and a mother who was a influential senator in the Atlantic Federation legislature. Like William, he joined to military for adventure, and to escape from his father's intention for him take over his business. Unlike William, Michael completed training top of his class, and went on to become one of the first mobile armor commanders in the Atlantic Federation space forces. He was so skilled as a mobile armor ace that he was chosen to be among the few aces to take up training in the new mobile suit division, and eventually ended up as a company commander of front line forces.

Michael would have become of high rank in the military, when family life intervened. A family man first and foremost, he opted to decline a higher position in the First Mobile Suit Division for a backwater assignment in France so as to stay with his family. His wife Mia was a doctor in a French hospital, so he chose to be near them. He was assigned to a local OMNI Enforcer base, together with William, and commanded a company of Atlantic Federation Windhams assigned there. He would have enjoyed his chance to stay close to his family, had not the anti-Logos sentiments flourished in the Eurasian Federation. The tensions between the Eurasians and the Atlantic Federation rose, until it escalated into the destruction of Berlin by Logos-backed forces. Caught in the inferno of the Destroy's terror strike into the grand city where Mia and the children, who were visiting the city on a vacation. The three died in the carnage, and Michael never even had successfully recover their remains.

A month later, Michael had left France with William, and got in contact with Gunny in the Bahamas. Scott joined them a week after, and the four secretly left for the embattled USSA capital of Montevideo, where they joined the rebel military. Assigned mobile suits the USSA rebuilt from salvaged parts acquired from the Junk Guild and supporters from Eurasia, the four formed the Twenty-First Platoon, one of the USSA's few elite strike forces deployed along the Amazon Forest front line with the OMNI Enforcer armies.

They have been fighting the OMNI Enforcer for almost a year now in a battlefield with no major gains had been taken by both sides for as long at the team was there. The OMNI Enforcer was trying to contain the rebellion with troops from two mobile suit and six mechanized divisions, strung along the almost five hundred mile front. The USSA, its military already stretched thin with the multiple fronts the Atlantic Federation was threatening them from, could only assigned two polyglot divisions to the Amazon hastily formed from various smaller units, but they were backed up by volunteer forces from local militia and foreign mercenaries.

And now they completed one of the numerous missions in this jungle conflict. Michael was evidently winding up with his reprimand. He was now stressing a point to William, with his finger wagging at the scared youngster. He dismissed the kid with a command, and a sullen William walked briskly towards him.

"Want a cup?" Scott offered him his drink.

William shrugged, and flopped himself on the ground beside Gunny, warming himself with the heat from the stove. "No thanks. I think my appetite won't be back for weeks after that drubbing Old Stone Face just gave me. And I'll just crap that out at once when I swallow. I feel like just got a new asshole torn open."

Gunny reached out and patted the forlorn teen on his shoulder. "Don't mind him kiddo. You know he just said that because he looks out for you."

William shook his hair. "I wish he just cut me some slack sometimes, you know."

Scott stood up and stretched. "We know that, Will. But you know Michael-"

"Yeah, I know him," William said. He was about to start a rant, but this was forgotten by the loud droning sound coming from the direction of the camp's gates. A brown four-by-four SUV came barreling through the open gates, to the alarm of the surprised guards. Everywhere people jumped up in alert, with guns coming out from holsters and storage places. The guns were trained on the rampaging vehicle, which stopped with a hard skid meters away from Gunny's Dagger L.

The front door of vehicle opened up, and a scruffy looking man got out. The man was ugly, with the awful smell around him to match. He had dirty hair covered by a dirty ball cap, and he was chewing bad smelling tobacco with green teeth. His small and scrawny body was covered with tattoos, which he proudly displayed on a shirtless chest. He strode up to Gunny, who hesitantly stood to greet him. "Hey there, Rat. What's up?"

The man called Rat smiled at him. "I was passing by the area, plying my trade, when I figured you'd like to see what I got on the convoy." Rat pointed towards the road, where several lights from large flatbed trucks were coming towards the base. "I got some stuff your platoon could be interested in."

Scott saw Michael stand behind Gunny, who was looking at Rat with a piqued interest. "I'm listening." The Rat was one of the unofficial supply providers the Twenty-First. He had the talent to acquire stuff one needs, regardless of how legal or not he got them. The Twenty-First has relied on him for more specialized equipment, even though the price was high.

But price wasn't a consideration, what with the covert monetary support Michael was getting from his father's arms company. The Rat served as a middleman, a contact with the Junk Guild and arms dealers who owed Ian Ward, who were trying to pay him off by acquiring salvaged or stolen weapons for Michael's platoon. Though illegal, the elder Ward had hated the other powers of the Atlantic Federation arms industry who'd sided with LOGOS and greatly affected for the worse the state of business of smaller non aligned companies like Ward Armored Technologies, and the hate intensified with the deaths of his beloved grandchildren. So even though they didn't see eye to eye, Ian Ward did all he could to help in his son's quest for vengeance.

"I've got my hands on a pair of flight augmentation packs for Daggers, which I know you guys need."

"Did you bring it in the trucks?" Gunny asked.

"Yep. Plus a half-dozen Morgenroete Type 71 beam rifles the Guild scooped up from a wrecked carrier down in the Aegean. Some of them's waterlogged, but your wizard there could do some of his magic with 'em." The Rat grinned at Scott.

Scott pondered over that. "Yeah, I can adapt them to the conduits on the Daggers' hands, and I maybe able to rig one up on my GINN. Do you got some Asimov type circuit boards for hand actuators?"

The Rat shook his head. "Nope. Didn't get any last time. But I could order some."

Scott nodded. "Did you find that GUUL I've been asking for?" The GUUL was a remote controlled subflight lifter designed for ZAFT mobile suits like the GINN and ZAKU to allow them atmospheric flight capability while on Earth.

"Well I did scrounged one up, but I left it in the shack," the Rat said. "They chassis and armor looks good, but the left engine's busted and it's out of missiles. I can't seem to get any reloads."

"How bad is the engine's condition?" Scott inquired.

"My techies said that the turbine was burned out, but it could be replaced. I'm still foraging for parts though."

"I'll take what you've got, Ratman," Scott said. "Just get me the parts. I'll see what I can do with launchers. Can you bring me the lifter on your next run?"

"Yeah I think so. Gimme a couple of days."

Scott accepted that. He looked over to his commander. "Anything you need, bossman?"

Michael stared at the Rat. "Just get my reloads for the Windham." With that he turned around, and strode into the dark woods.

The Rat whistled. "Mighty friendly your boss is, isn't he, Gunny?"

Gunny sighed. "Don't mind him. We just got back from a mission and he's just tired."

The Rat nodded silently. "We all are, tired I mean. This damn war's better end soon."

Gunny laughed. "But you'll be out of business, my friend."

The Rat frowned at Gunny. "I didn't say that. I just meant I hate wars in jungles. It's too hot and too many mosquitoes down here in the Amazon. Let's end this war so I could go to another one with a nicer climate and more money. That should make my life easier." With that, the Rat walked away, and waited for his convoy to arrive.

* * *

**_Archangel_**

_**Angel's Point**_

_**Orb Union**_

_**December 30, CE 74**_

Murrue watched as the participants to the pre launch meeting began filing into the conference room. They had just completed the preparations for their journey with two days of none stop work for the crews. The command group spent a large part of the time crammed into this cramp room, going over the final plans for their mission. They broke up the meeting only six hours ago, to allow for some time to rest up before the launch. They were now coming in small groups, still looking tired, but a little rejuvenated by a few hours sleep.

Mu sat beside her, grinning sleepily as he slouched into his seat. Murrue touched his hand and squeezed it, as if to help shake away the last traces of drowsiness from the blonde pilot. Kira came in with Lacus, both of them seemingly having a different glow between them. The two seemed getting along better after their encounter with the raiders in space, and Lacus looked more at ease than troubled. Again Murrue reminded herself to have a private chat with Lacus when she had time. Meyrin entered next followed by Athrun, who did not look like he got any sleep at all. Meyrin touched his shoulder and gave him a look of concern, which the blue-haired Coordinator shook off with a small smile. They sat on the other side of Murrue. Chief Murdoch, Neumann and Chandra joined the group, and took empty seats opposite her. Finally, Andrew and Dearka took their places, and the group fell into silence, eagerly to get the meeting going.

Andy spoke up first. "Are we all here?" Everyone looked around, checking for who was meeting. Athrun noticed who was. "Where's Shinn?"

"I saw him hanging around the hanger deck," Murdoch answered. "But I don't think he wants to be bothered." Shinn was spending a lot of time hanging around the decks, watching the tech crew work on the five mobile suits now safely nestled on the maintenance gantries. He didn't really socialize much and contended himself with watching the work progressing. He didn't bother the crews, but his presence kept the men on their feet, wary of him exploding in anger after the display he had with Kira two days ago.

Athrun started to stand. "Should I go get him, _Kanchou_?"

Murrue gestured for him to keep seated. "_Iie_, the meeting's about to start - we could just fill him in before we cast off. But I expect him to be present in future command meetings." Athrun nodded in assent and returned to his seat.

The door slid open, and Kisaka entered in a determined pace. Erica Simmons followed Kisaka, trailed by a lieutenant colonel from the Intelligence Division of the Orb Defense Force. The short man looked to be in his middle thirties, and had the look of competence in his gray eyes, covered by simple looking wire-framed glasses. He carried a black briefcase, which probably held important reports concerning the mission at hand. He took a seat beside Kisaka, who nodded to everyone inside the room.

"Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen," Kisaka said, starting the meeting. "We will now begin the final pre-launch briefing of the _Archangel's_ operations group. As we all know you are scheduled to launch in four hours when night has fallen, to ensure your stealthy departure from Orb. I understand from _Taisa_ Ramius' last report this morning that all is in preparedness on board the ship. Therefore I would like to skip the readiness of the ship first and proceed with our intelligence briefing. My aide, _Chusa_ Ford Tourneville, will handle the brief." Kisaka gestured to the gray-haired man, who stood and took out a digital disc from his briefcase. He slid the disc into a laptop on the table, and the large holoscreen on the wall displayed the information it held.

"We have further data gathered from the salvaged raiders," Tourneville began. "We've checked the parts for serial numbers, but we didn't find any. We did however, did a geological study of the metals used in the fabrication of the parts. We've traced the metals used to mines in the Eastern Siberia region, specifically a batch that was supposed to be earmarked for exportation to Orb. But the batch of metals where known to be lost at sea, when the cargo vessel carrying was presumed lost in a storm than happened near the Tsushima Straits three months before the Bloody Valentine Incident."

"Our techs also recovered several system boards and wiring harnesses that were based on designs developed by Morgenroete for the Astray mobile suit series, but we can't confirm if they were built by Morgenroete or in a different facility. Again because there was no serial numbers recovered on the parts." Murrue stole a glance with Erica, but the orange-haired Coordinator revealed nothing in her eyes.

"As for munitions, several unexploded missiles were salvaged from Onogoro. We can identify them as two hundred twenty millimeter all aspect heat seekers produced by ZAFT, with serial numbers to booth."

Dearka raised an eye at the revelation. "Have you checked in with ZAFT about this? They have instructions to provide cooperation with Orb with certain requests."

Tourneville nodded stiffly. "We are thinking of requesting the government to check with ZAFT, but our sources have information that may only require confirmation from ZAFT. The sources indicate that the missile were assigned to the _Hawkins_, a _Laurasia_-class destroyer heavily damaged in the first war and scrapped in the debris field after the Armistice."

Dearka exchanged looks with Athrun, but the two said nothing. Tourneville took this as a signal to proceed. "Although the knowledge that ZAFT weapons were used in the attack is a source of concern, we are more disturbed by the raiders' use of Orb technology. We do not know how they came to have possession of electrical components based on Morgenroete designs, and I am recommending to _Chujo_ Kisaka that an investigation on this be done as soon as possible. Questions?"

Waltfeld raised a hand. "What about the identities of the two dead raiders you recovered?"

Tourneville shook his head. "We could not make positive identification from the remains. One was burned to a crisp, while the other had fingerprints and DNA patterns that don't match anyone's on our databases."

Kira was next to call his attention. "Have you anything else on the ID of the unknown submarine? Do you know where it went?"

Again Tourneville shrugged. "No additional data on that, _Shousho_. Be we've correlated enough data to indicate where that submarine was probably headed to South America." The lieutenant colonel pressed some buttons on the keyboard, and the map of the western coast of South America appeared. "We believe they could possibly land anywhere with a two-hundred mile radius between Valparaiso and Concepcion on the Chilean coast. There are many small harbors deep and hidden enough to hide a secret submarine base, just like your Angel's Point."

Mu snorted. "That's a lot of help," he remarked sarcastically, which earned him a glare from Tourneville and a kick in the shin from Murrue.

"Forgive my exec here, _Chusa_," Murrue said. "But in a way he is right. The information is still thin, but I guess it can't be helped."

Tourneville smirked. "Thank you, _Kanchou_. The Division will do its best to collect more data, and we'll forward it too you when you make contact. We do need your procedures for contact us."

"I understand _Chusa_ Tourneville. I will explain that and the rest of our plans when you finish report."

"I've already reported everything I know, _Kanchou_." Tourneville took out his digital disc and sat down once more. Kisaka nodded to Murrue, who stood to begin her briefing.

Murrue highlighted the area indicated by the intelligence officer. "Thanks to the additional information given by _Chusa_ Tourneville," Mu grimaced, but Murrue ignored him "we have a better picture of the situation we will face. The _Archangel_ will make a submerged run for a point one hundred miles from the Chilean coast at these coordinates," Murrue pointed to the numbers. "From there we will send an encrypted satellite communications via Orb's intelligence satellite, which _Chujo_ Kisaka will task to settle overhead for a orbital pass. We will wait for the Orb's reply on the satellite's next pass. I expect any information you might acquire to be sent via this method. _Chujo_ Kisaka has been working to make contact with Orb agents in occupied South America, and the Archangel will make contact with them when the need arises."

"We've settled on the mobile suit complement we'll carry. We'll have Kira's, Athrun's, Mu's and Dearka's units, plus the new one, if we could convince a certain _someone_ to fly it." Murrue caught Athrun's eye, and he nodded silently. "We'll leave Ikeya's squad here on Orb, and the Gaia, since Andy won't be coming with us on this mission." Everyone turned to Waltfeld, who just grinned as Murrue continued. "He'll coordinate our efforts with Orb Command from here, and act as our lifeline. I expect him to form up with Ikeya's group and our friends from Terminal should we need them."

Murrue looked at Mu. "I'm giving tactical command of the mobile suit team to Mu, since he is the senior pilot after Andy. Athrun will be his second. I'm assigning Meyrin as the team's control officer in the CIC. I will retain overall command of this mission, with Kira as my operations and intelligence officer and Lacus as communications officer. We will proceed with this mission covertly, and avoid any contact with any other armed force if we can avoid it. Our rules of engagement are simple: we will not engage unless attacked first, and we will engage only to cover our withdrawal from the area.

"As per _Chujo_ Kisaka's words from yesterday's meeting, we will be on our own. We will only be resupplied only when we really needed, and we will expect our supplies from sources other than Orb directly. We will be informed of these supply sources in our further communication with him. But we must always remember that this mission requires totally secrecy on our part since we won't be sanctioned by the Orb government. If we do receive reinforcements, it will most likely be Andy and his group." Murrue eyed everyone in her group. "Are we all cleared on this?" Everyone agreed silently. "Good. _Chujo_, that concludes my brief."

"Thank you Ramius-_Kanchou_. I would like to thank everyone here that will be joining in this mission. The Orb government knows the importance of this endeavor, with the security of Orb and the world at stake. I pray that you will all be successful and return safely. May the gods of the sea protect you all."

* * *

_**The Pharaoh's Estate**_

_**Diego De Almagro**_

_**Chile State**_

_**Occupied South America**_

_**December 30, CE 74**_

The beeping of the video communications screen woke him up from his fitful sleep back into his living nightmare. The Pharaoh pressed a button on the remote mounted on his bed for his easy reach and answered the call. Only one person had this direct access to him, and the Pharaoh always allowed this communication.

The evil face of the Knife appeared on the screen. "Forgive me for bothering you, master."

The Pharaoh nodded slightly. "Speak, my friend. What do have to report to me?"

The Knife bowed as he spoke. "Adam has left for the target area, master. He has taken the Extended team with him. They will arrive at the target in ten hours. They will rendezvous with the Barracuda off the coast of southern France after three days. Adam will use the time in between to make final inspections of the target."

"Why did you not go with them? What about my daughter, Isis? Is she with them?"

The Knife shook his head. "No my master. Adam was adamant not to allow either her of me to come. He stated the reason that this was a rehearsed mission between his immediate team members, and we would just get in the way. I didn't want to draw his suspicions by insisting."

The Pharaoh laughed. "Very _clever_, that Adam. By leaving Isis, he forces you to be left behind too." The Knife frowned at his words, but the Pharaoh went on. "Don't feel _embarrassed_ my friend. This gives you the opportunity to do the other things I instructed you."

"I will proceed to New York in two days. I shall meet with the board of directors and tell them of your orders."

"You have done well my friend," the Pharaoh was pleased at the work of his most trusted lieutenant. "Keep it up. And in addition to that, I ask you to begin the next phase of my plans. Contact your agent in Columbia. Let him commence his part in conjunction with Adam's next raid. Then reward him in the normal way."

"Yes, my master." The Knife bowed once more.

"I sense _frustration_ from you," the Pharaoh spoke, closing his red eyes and reading the Knife's angry mind. "What is it my friend? Something is bothering you."

The Knife hesitated before speaking up once more. "I am worried about the success of Adam's mission, master. He again moves too early. He is too impulsive."

The Pharaoh laughed. "You are angry because he has acted in way that _contradicts_ the assessment of him you gave me before you left. I understand your frustration; it is a product of your loyalty to me. Do not be disturbed. The worst that can happen is that the weaker ones will be _culled_." He turned away from the video screen. "Report to me immediately any more updates and information you gather."

"Yes, my master," the Knife said, bowing one last time as his image faded away from the Pharaoh's screen.

* * *

The Knife was about to stand up from his desk when the beeping of a incoming call came alive from his secure satellite phone. He opened his phone and spoke into it. "Hello."

It was the voice of one of his trusted agents. "The seraph is just about to leave the point. It is on its way. I have done what you have ordered. Everything is in place." The line clicked dead.

_Good_, the Knife thought. _At least one of my plans is working to perfection_. The Knife got up from his place and went down into the living areas of the base, thinking of other way to further their cause for his master.

* * *

_**Angel's Point**_

_**Orb Union**_

_**December 30, CE 74**_

As night fell on Angel's Point, the _Archangel_ began its journey. Kisaka watched with Tourneville from the dock control room as the carrier was submerged as the dry dock filled with millions of liters of seawater. Erica Simmons sat in front of him, supervising the procedure that will allow the ship to enter the deep ocean when the massive doors opened into it. They were waiting for the report on the water levels inside the dock area, waiting for the optimum moment to open the doors.

"Water Level now at four-hundred meters, Mrs. Simmons," a tech reported. "_Archangel_ is starting up her engines."

"Open docking bay doors. Release stabilizing arms," Erica ordered.

The large stabilizing arms that held the carrier in place retracted away from the ship, releasing the Archangel from its grip. The two giant doors in front of the carrier began to slowly open, revealing the darkness of the deep ocean in front of it.

"This is the _Archangel_," Lacus Clyne's voice came alive from a speaker. "Permission to launch requested."

Erica answered her. "Confirmed, _Archangel_. Permission granted. Good luck and Godspeed."

The _Archangel_ began to inch forward, slowly cruising at three knots. It took the massive vessel two minutes to clear the doors, and it gradually disappeared in the dark waters. Kisaka and the control room crew followed its progress from a passive sonar display for a silent five minutes, and the carrier's signal weakened until it vanished completely.

"There goes our last, best hope for peace, ladies and gentlemen," Kisaka whispered. "May it succeed in its quest and not be swallowed by the chaos that awaits it."

* * *


	8. Phase Seven

_**Disclaimers: **_

_Mobile Suit Gundam SEED is owned and copyrighted by Mitsuo Fukuda, the Sotsu Agency, Sunrise and BANDAI._

_In The Quiet Night CE 73 is sung by Meer Campbell (Rie Tanaka)_

_Life Goes On is sung by Mica Arisika and composed by Yuki Kajiura

* * *

_

**Phase Seven: The Calm Before The Storm

* * *

**

**_LHM-BB01 Minerva_**

_**Low Earth Orbit**_

_**Over The South Atlantic**_

_**December 30, CE 74**_

"We are over the South Atlantic, _Kanchou_. We are at a height of one hundred fifty kilometers from the surface at thirteen thousand two hundred and seventy meters east-southeast of the Falklands."

"Thank you, Mr. Heim," _Taisa_ Jane Devereux acknowledged her sensors officer's report. The _Minerva_ had just arrived at her computed reentry point. The ship had diverted back to Armory One upon orders of ZAFT Command. Devereux surrendered the remains of the captured raider mobile suit to ZAFT's R&D facility there for study. After dropping off their cargo, the ship returned to its initial mission of transit to the militia's primary base in the Eurasian and African sectors. The _Minerva_ was now about to commence reentry, using a northerly glide reentry to arrive of the coast of Gibraltar. "Secure the battle bridge. Ms. Windsor, order the ship to condition red. Prepare for atmospheric reentry."

"Yes, ma'am," Abi Windsor responded. She began to speak into the ship's PA to broadcast the alert warning. "Condition red. Repeat, condition red. All hands prepare for atmospheric reentry." The bridge rumbled and vibrated as it was lowered to the reinforced bunker that served as the battle bridge a deck below from the main bridge deck. At first there was darkness, illuminated only by the console lights, but illumination grew as the main vidscreen that served as the battle bridge's view to the outside came alive, the verdant blue and white Earth framed on its monitors.

"Mr. Yardbirds," Devereux said to the direction of her helmsman, as she secured her safety belts. "Commence reentry."

"_Hai_," said Malik Yardbirds. "Commencing reentry. Entering reentry phase one. Initial speed set at Mach fifteen. Turning to course angle four-five." The _Minerva_ shook as the pull of gravity increased with the massive ship penetrating the outer layer of Earth's atmosphere

"Trajectory is in the optimal range." Heim said from sensors.

"We are now at phase one," Yardbirds reported. "Entering the atmosphere at one hundred twenty kilometers. Speed decreasing to Mach ten."

"Heat shields activated." Cheng Zheng Yi filled in from the weapons chair. "Thermal protection system set on automatic, protection rated at seventy percent. All systems green."

"We are passing through the Karman line." The Karman line, located one hundred kilometers above the surface of the Earth, was the invisible boundary used by scientist between space and the atmosphere.

"Commence phase two!" Devereux commanded.

"Phase two is go. Variable wings folded." The two large wings of the _Minerva_ closed into the main body of the ship. "Decreasing to Mach seven."

"Temperature rising to eight hundred degrees Celsius. Heat shields holding at eighty-two percent." The vibration along the ship was getting more violent, as gravity shocks rocked the vessel.

"Crossing the mesosphere, at height of eighty-three kilometers."

"Entering phase three."

"Communication black out begins," Abi declared, and the big vidscreen went blank as the sensors and communications became useless in this part of the atmosphere.

"Temperature decreasing to two hundred forty." Cheng added.

"Angle of entry adjusted by five degrees," Yardbirds reported, as he veered the _Minerva_ a little higher. "Automatic position control system online. Speed down to Mach three-point-three." They were passing the stratosphere now, and emerging above the clouds at the uppermost part of the troposphere. "Atmospheric maneuvering is now possible, _Kanchou_. We are just approaching the coast of the Northwest Africa. Height at ten thousand meters."

"Commence phase four."

"_Hai_. Phase four go," Yardbirds confirmed. "Unfolding the wings. Flaps down. Switching to atmospheric thrust. We are decreasing height at fifty meters per second." The variable wings deployed once more, and added to the drag that slowed down the ship immensely.

"Communications?" Devereux asked.

"We have radio signals back, _Kanchou_." Abi reported.

"What is our distance from Gibraltar?"

"Down to one hundred kilometers, _Kanchou_. Height fifteen hundred." Heim responded.

"Initiate splashdown sequence."

"Angle of attack is good. Flaps deployed. Height is down to one thousand." Yardbirds had adjusted the heading of the _Minerva_, which was now pointed at the general directions of ZAFT's Gibraltar base. Wind velocity is forty knots. Splashdown checklist one to twenty-four is all green."

Two minutes later the ship was only five hundred meters above the water, as it prepared for the splashdown into the Atlantic. "Height is now five hundred. Ground effect is below projected calculations."

"Compensate, Mr. Yardbirds." Devereux picked up her PA handset and talked into the mouthpiece. "This is the _Kanchou_. All hands brace for splashdown impact."

The ocean grew larger as the _Minerva_ lowered down into the water at the speed of over two hundred fifty knots. The ship rocked hard as the hull touched the water, and a tall geyser was formed from the impact. The ship vibrated as it accelerated a bit, and began to slow down as the water added to the drag forces. Soon the ship came to a halt on the calm ocean surface

"Splashdown complete, _Kanchou_. We are twenty-one kilometers southwest from Gibraltar." Yardbirds reported.

"Well down, Malik. Proceed to Gibraltar at fifteen knots. Ms. Windsor, contact the port control. Tell them we completed our landing. All sections are to check for water leaks on all compartments. Damage control teams to the lower decks."

"Gibraltar has sent escorts from the airfield, _Kanchou_," Abi reported.

"Do you see them, Mr. Heim?"

"_Hai_," Burt answered. "Two BABIs approaching from two-one-five, speed three hundred, distance twenty-six hundred."

"Message from port control," Abi began. "It reads 'Gibraltar Base welcomes _Minerva _and its crew. _Chujo_ Radul wishes to meet with _Taisa_ Devereux, _Chusa_ Trine and _Tai-I_ Hawke upon arrival at headquarters'. What is our reply, _Kanchou_?"

"Reply: 'Message received. _Minerva_ sends its thanks.' Call Lunamaria and have her meet us at the main deck hatchway. Commence docking operations immediately. Inform all those who have shore leave that they may disembark at thirteen hundred hours. Good landing ladies and gentlemen. Let's make sure we have a decent enough time here at the Rock."

* * *

"Welcome to Gibraltar, _Taisa_ Devereux," _Chujo_ Joachim Radul said as he ushered Luna, Devereux-_Kanchou_ and Arthur Trine into his briefing room. A former mobile suit pilot and ground division commander in the first war, he was the former commander of ZAFT's Persian Gulf Base in Mahamul in the second war, and led the assault on the OMNI Enforcer's fortified Lohengrin Base at Gulnahan. An excellent officer and tactician, Radul survived the war and was promoted to become overall commander of ZAFT forces in the Eurasian and African sectors. 

Devereux accepted the hand. "Thank you, _Chujo_. It is an honor for the _Minerva's_ crew to be serving under you."

Radul smiled. "On the contrary, Devereux-_Kanchou_, the honor is mine. I had good memories serving alongside the goddess of war. The _Minerva_ was the catalyst of success at the battle of Gulnahan. Without her and her gallant mobile suit team, we couldn't have breached its defenses."

Devereux nodded. "I assure you, _Chujo_ that my crew will continue to strive to meet your expectations."

"Very good then, _Kanchou_," Radul said. "Considering how the situation is right now, I expect a lot of things from your crew." The _Chujo_ gestured for them to sit. "First off, everything we shall talk about in this meeting has been rated top-secret. Nothing may leave this room. Information can only be shared to anyone outside this room only on a need-to-know basis, with prior notice with me. I believe you have an idea how critical things are becoming, Devereux. Security will be our preeminent concern. Your encounter with the _Archangel_ and the raiders would have showed you how capable the terrorists could be."

"_Hai_," Devereux nodded. "We've also begun the analysis of the captured raider suit. Initial information corroborates with your statement."

"We've received your preliminary reports. We have added to it information we received from our embassy at Orb routed from the office of Chairman Westenfluss. Our government and Orb have formally completed their quiet negotiations, and we have tacit approval to share information regarding the incidents, within certain limits of course." Radul glanced down at his screen. "You reported that you gave the same offer to the _Archangel's_ officers, but they politely declined, citing diplomatic considerations."

"_Shousho_ Kira Yamato of the Orb Defense Force thought to see it fit that those things go through proper channels."

"Well things have changed. Orb has graciously accepted our offer of support for their investigation. They have also accepted our request for a liaison officer to be allowed to join in. We have our man assigned and he is with their operations team - which according to reports left Orb already."

"They sent out an operations team?" Luna asked. "Doesn't that run counter to their neutral stance?"

Radul answered with a nod. "They may have considered that, but probably deemed it necessary for international security to initiate a covert mission to locate the terrorists. Reports are sketchy, but our intelligence indicates that they have sent out the only unit they have that can operate without direct open support from Orb."

Luna paused to ponder about that, before coming to a realization. "_Archangel_, you mean."

"Correct, _Tai-I_ Hawke. That ship and its crew is the only force capable of doing a mission of this magnitude. They could operate independently and covertly, plus they have the force capability to project should things go wrong." Radul typed in some commands, and new documents appeared in front of Luna and officers' screens. "We have just received this classified document, released by the Orb government, courtesy of _Chujo_ Ledonir Kisaka of the Orb Defense Force. It shows the orders for the _Archangel_ crew. They are to reconnoiter and locate the terrorist's base and report back. Their mission is to avoid contact with the terrorists, and not to engage them except in self defense or extreme circumstances. Once the Orb government and ours have the information confirmed, we will execute a strike operation to eliminate the terrorist base."

"That's where the _Minerva_ comes in," Devereux-Kanchou said.

"The _Minerva_ will be the primary strike force that ZAFT will provide for that operation. Your ship is the only one for now that we could release for this sensitive task. We can't provide an entire task force to conduct this operation, due to current security considerations." Red dots appeared along the east coast of the South American continent. "As you can see, the entire east coat is littered with EA ships, blockading the only shoreline the USSA has access to. Any fleets we send near this area will be in proximity of the EA's squadrons, and things might get ugly. So it would be more prudent to send one ship, limiting the chances that it could be spotted."

"We're going to be on our own?" _Chusa_ Trine spoke out. "We can't submerge underwater to stay covered, not like the _Archangel_."

"I understand your concern, _Chusa_. Should the _Minerva_ be spotted, we will have to take the chance that the EA will consider one ship less than a threat than an entire task force."

"But our ship is a command battleship-"

"And would certainly command the attention of the EA," Radul finished. "I have taken that into consideration. In fact, I am expecting that. By drawing attention towards the _Minerva_, we draw attention from whatever the _Archangel_ is up to. The _Minerva_ will close in near the EA's fleets, show the flag and keep their eyes on you."

"And the _Minerva_ is expendable? Being 'jinxed' -" Devereux baited.

Radul smiled. "The High Command warned me about your frankness, Devereux, and they are well foresighted for that. I want to tell you that I don't believe that the _Minerva_ is a cursed ship. I fought with it during the last war at Gulnahan Ravine and I believe in its capability to succeed in this mission. Your ship is the most capable to handle this threat, so that's why for this mission I recommended you."

Luna caught the short intake of breath from the executive officer. Her own eyes widened at the Chujo's compliment for their crew. Only the _Kanchou_ was impassive in her response.

"In short, the _Minerva_ will be best to act as a decoy," Devereux-_Kanchou_ concluded.

"Correct. We will help the _Archangel_ complete their mission, and graciously receive their information. And then we will _strike_. And the _Minerva_ will be in the best position to do so."

* * *

_**Archangel**_

_**Somewhere In The South Pacific**_

_**December 30, CE 74**_

"So, how did I do?" Kira asked Chief Murdoch, asked he wiped off the sweat on his head. He had just completed maintenance work on his mobile suit, spending almost the entire morning updating the G.U.N.D.A.M. Complex OS and helping the techs work on the actuators inside the bowel of the massive left foot. Tossing the wet towel on a nearby worktable, he wiped his grimy hands on the equally dirty orange tech jumpsuit he was wearing. Kira saw Athrun, who had just also completed working on the Justice, grimacing with displeasure at his shabby habit. His friend was looking over the data from the maintenance of the _Archangel's_ mobile suits, as per his job as the team's executive officer. Dearka was striding over from the Buster's legs, stopping to stand beside Athrun.

Murdoch didn't look up from what he was reading off a handheld tablet PC. "You've got the actuator fixed; I see no more fluctuations with the magnetic flow on the myomer cables wrapped around it. The OS looks okay, but you'll still have to update it for Earth gravity combat. I checked it out and it's still set for zero-G. You'll also have to update the left balancing specs for the gyroscope; it's still a little off by point four-five percent. There's also the problem with the beam relay for DRAGOON unit five, the power flows still a bit diffused."

Murdoch reached out for something on his back pocket, and held out a folded plastic trash bag to Kira. "And use this. You know what for."

Sheepishly grinning, Kira took trash bag. "Do I have to do it now, Chief?"

"Yes, sir, _Shousho_ sir." Murdoch nodded mechanically. "Rank doesn't mean you can leave your cockpit like a trash heap."

Dearka poked Athrun on his shoulder. "What's going on?"

Athrun sighed. "Kira here has a bad habit of making a mobile suit cockpit into his living quarters. Murdoch once told me he used to sleep inside the Strike and the Freedom. And he's still doing it up to now. He's still eating inside the cockpit when he's working maintenance. He also _forgets_ to take out the garbage, and sometimes just _stuffs_ them underneath the pilot seat."

"Yeah," Murdoch agreed. "Yesterday I checked out the cockpit and found two plastic coffee cups, an empty six-pack of soda, and a lot of sandwich bags and candy wrappers - enough for six well-balanced meals and multiple snacks."

Kira raised an eyebrow. "So why didn't you take them out? You were there already."

Murdoch snickered. "And hamper your efforts in good character building? Clean uniforms and a tidy cockpit are essential for morale and performance of mobile pilots. Good officers should know that, _Shousho_. Didn't you learn that in officer's school?"

"I never really got to _attend_ the officer's candidate course, remember."

"Not my problem, _Shousho_. You're the officer. I'm just a lowly chief on board a danger-attracting ship with a very low pay rate." Murdoch winked.

Athrun cleared his throat. "Getting back to business…"

"Right," Murdoch said. "Mr. Elsman, we'll still have to replace the recoil dampers for the three-fifty millimeter gun cannon. The feed system for the ammunition needs cleaning; I'll get a work team to handle it this afternoon. And when you check out the OS again, you may want to update the radar frequencies software. We have the program for you. You'll just have to install it"

"Okay," Dearka agreed. "Could you also check the lower myomer bundles on the left leg actuators? I could hear a weird whining sound when I tested it - creepy."

"The Justice is ready, Chief," Athrun reported. "But could you look over the beam rifle? There seems to be a higher heat spike than usual. It could be prone to early overheating."

Murdoch finished reading off the tablet. "I think that's all of it - except for the Phoenix." Murdoch scratched his head. "Nobody's started working on its OS yet. And the wings are still not optimized. That thing's not combat ready until _someone_ starts to work on it."

Athrun sat down on the worktable. "I know. But still can't figure a way to talk to him. It's not that easy."

Kira glanced at him. "Save for Meyrin, you're the only person among us who really knows how to talk to him."

Athrun shook his head. "Let me correct that misconception, Kira. I _don't_ know how to handle Shinn Asuka and _never _did. Even when we served together, he's made himself a very hard to communicate with."

Murdoch grunted. "He can't be a dead weight forever. We're gonna need him, _Taisa_."

Athrun closed his eyes and flexed his neck. "I know." Kira just kept silent, knowing _he_ couldn't do anything to help in this situation.

Dearka had his arms akimbo, keeping quiet in obvious thought. Then his face lighting up with a wide grin and spoke up. "Let me handle him, Athrun."

"What are you going to do?" Athrun looked at him suspiciously.

Dearka turned away from the group and started walking to nearby hatch. "Don't worry boss. I know a thing or two about _motivating_ troops." Kira watched as the hatch closed behind the blonde Coordinator, then turned to his friend.

"Well?"

Athrun sighed as he kept his gaze on the closed doors. "Why do I have this _bad feeling_ I'm gonna regret this."

* * *

Shinn laid awake on his bed in his darkened quarters, thinking in silence about what he was doing. He was supposed to be working with the crew of this ship, to help in their investigation and hunt of the terrorist in return of allowing him to board and search for Stellar. But once he caught sight of Yamato and Neo, things changed in him. Mistrust and anger, both born from experience in the war, overwhelmed his earlier resolve to cooperate with the Terminal organization. He still couldn't get over his hate for the two, whom Shinn blamed for Stellar's untimely death - thus, his reluctance to help out in the search. 

Seeing the Destiny, or whatever they called his erstwhile mobile suit, added to his reluctance. _Or is it stubbornness?_ But the fact remained that the Destiny was here, tempting him to enter it once more, to fly in the air and use its power, for as was his own destiny. A destiny he never really wanted, a destiny he only accepted for the ideals of a man he knew as wise and the request of a friend who was dying without hope. But his choice may have helped Dullindal and Rey, but it never really did anything to help Stellar.

He had failed to protect her. First he let the doctors meddle with her recuperation, almost allowing them to have their way with her. He failed when he returned her to Neo, blindly believing him that he would take her away from all the madness. And last he failed to rescue her from the fires of the Destroy, plunged into the darkness of death by Yamato and the Freedom. He failed her, and yet she loved him in the end.

That hurt the most - the fact that even when he failed her, she accepted him. She was glad he was there, even though he couldn't do anything to save her. Shinn thus felt as if his heart was gone, banished to the nothingness as Stellar was. He thought he would find healing with Lunamaria, but that ended with Shinn destroying whatever they had between them, be it their friendship or their love.

And yet here he was, on the ship that carried his most hated enemies, tempted by the words of a man he once thought he destroyed as a traitor, yet Athrun's words was something he was not expecting, yet secretly wished - a chance to find Stellar, a chance to redeem himself.

If he only could put the hate away.

His reverie was broken by the chiming of the doorbell followed by loud knocking on the door.

"Who is it?"

"Open the door, Asuka." It was the voice of Dearka Elsman. "I need to talk to you."

Wondering what in the world did the ZAFT officer wanted from him, Shinn reluctantly got up from his bed and walked to the door. The blonde pilot was grinning when Shinn saw him after the door opened, and Shinn felt a bad feeling about it. "What?"

Without saying a word, the stupid grin still pasted on his face, Elsman grabbed Shinn by the sleeves of his shirt, and dragged him out of the room. He then twisted Shinn's arm by the wrist, holding Shinn in an arm lock, beginning to push him in the direction of the hanger bay. "Hey what the-"

"Sorry Asuka, but you can't spend the whole trip holding out in your room." Elsman shoved Shinn roughly, but the black haired Coordinator managed to maintain his balance. He spun on his heels and threw a punch at Elsman, who calmly blocked it with his left hand. The forward momentum opened Shinn to a counterattack, which came in the form of a quick backhand.

Pain exploded from his face, and Shinn dropped to the deck. Shinn tried to get up once more, but dizziness and Elsman's foot stepping on his chest made it near impossible. "Don't get up until you listened to what I have to say," Elsman demanded calmly.

Shinn tried to struggle, but was too much in pain to succeed. Reluctantly he relaxed himself and remained still. "What do you want, Elsman?"

"You're a quick learner. Good." Elsman removed his foot and walked a few feet away, keeping his back to Shinn. "I'm here to make sure you do your part of the bargain, Shinn-_san_."

"What bargain?"

"Keeping to yourself makes you forgetful, I see," Elsman said. "I'm talking about what you promised Waltfeld-_sama_ back in Orb - about you following orders."

Shinn struggled to sit up. "I don't have to follow your-"

"But you do, _baka_," Elsman cut him off. "Remember that this is a military ship. And you're military. Don't give me any reason about you leaving ZAFT. When you joined Terminal, you got back in the uniform, my friend."

"Do you remember when you first wore the red suit? That made you one of the elite, Asuka, ZAFT's best. I know because I wore it once." Elsman faced him. "The red suit meant that you're ready to face anything thrown at you because you could face it. It means that we have to be obedient, disciplined and concentrated in our mission, whatever it is. And it doesn't mean that you won't follow those ideals once you're not in the red anymore."

Shinn spat blood on the floor. "I don't think this crew's worthy of my obedience, Elsman."

"Wrong again." Elsman's eyes lowered into a frown. "Right now this ship is the only one who's got the balls to take on this mission. Right now this ship is the only one standing in the way of those terrorists. Right now this ship is the only ticket in town for you - you and your quest to find that girl."

Shinn glared at Elsman. "That's none of your business-"

"It's _my_ business, Shinn. It's my business to protect the peace. It's my business to stop those raiders. It's my business to succeed and stay alive," Elsman paused, breathing heavily. "I will _not_ put my life in someone's hand when doesn't really care if he dies or not."

Shinn looked away. "I'd rather be dead."

"Then get off the ship and jump into the sea." Elsman turned away once more. "Look at you, Asuka. What a piece of crap you are. You were a former red suit, ZAFT ace, FAITH member, awardee of the Nebula medal, pilot of the Impulse and Destiny. Now you're just a useless bum."

"I'm not a useless-"

"Then get up and get your act together!" Elsman shouted. "Do it for yourself! Do it for those who care for you. Do it for those you care for! _Be_ the man you that you are, Shinn Asuka."

Shinn hesitated.

Elsman pointed to the direction of the hanger bay. "In there is something only you have the power to use. Use it for the good of all. Take that power and use it."

"I don't want too -"

"Yes you do! Don't deny it. You'll need the power to succeed and fulfill your goal - to find what you are searching for."

Elsman offered Shinn his hand. "Let me help you out, Shinn-_san_. You have the power to do a lot of good for the world. And now you also have the freedom to do what you want. Destiny won't hold you back anymore. The Phoenix will let you fly _free_."

Shinn wanted to punch him, but found himself stopping. Elsman had a point. He was here now, on this ship, on the way to where he might be able to find answers to his questions. But he knew he had to pull his own weight. Maybe it was time to swallow some of pride and hatred and make things work. He didn't necessarily need to _like_ it, but he _had_ too.

"What do you want me to do," Shinn whispered.

* * *

Athrun watched in wonder as Shinn boarded the Destiny Phoenix and started to work maintenance inside the cockpit with the help of Murdoch. He and Kira were working on a computer near the foot of Kira's mobile suit, when they saw the black haired Coordinator being led inside the hanger by Dearka. Shinn glanced at their direction, the constant glare still framed and targeted at Kira, but it didn't show much anger as much as irritation at having to be in the same room with him. As soon as Shinn settled into his work, Dearka walked confidently towards the two friends, smiling broadly. "You look full of yourself, Dearka." 

"The product of a successful mission, Athrun," Dearka just said. "Shinn over there agreed to work on the Phoenix for a while - better than just moping around."

"What did you do?"

"Nothing much - just used my brains and leadership skills. Didn't you know I was a psychology major?"

"_Iie_," Athrun said. "And I don't believe you."

* * *

_**Gibraltar City**_ **_Gibraltar_**

_**December 30, CE 74**_

"Hitomi, snap out it!" Rena was screaming.

Hitomi blinked and stared unfocused at her friend. "You were saying something, Rena?"

Rena sighed and knocked her head on the sidewalk table. Hitomi, with Lunamaria-_Taichou_, Madison and Rena were enjoying the late afternoon sun, having some cold drinks at a sidewalk café in the commercial area near the ZAFT base. They had just finished from a blazing run through the malls, invading and attacking the clothes boutiques for the newest fashions. They all bought their share, with Rena buying four times as much as the others, earning her another negative shake of the head from the _Taichou_.

Hitomi was enjoying this quiet down time, not really one who likes to shop a lot, much like Madison, and unlike the casual shopper like the _Taichou_ and the ravenous one like Rena was. She savored the chance to sit down in a cozy and shaded seat on this sunny day, just enjoying a cool glass of orange juice. She wasn't really interested in the general topics of the foursomes' discussion - which with Rena as the center of the talk swirled around shopping, boys, fashion, boys, relationships and boys. So she tuned out the talking, happy to daydream happy thoughts, and frolic in her own little world inside her mind. And she was still in the state of blissful imagination when Rena interrupted her.

Luna-_Taichou_ stirred her glass of ice-cold lemonade. "She was asking you about your boyfriend, Hitomi-_chan_." She took a sip of her beverage. "I never knew you had one."

_That's because I don't have one!_ "What are you yapping about?" Hitomi asked, giving Rena a cold stare.

Madison lifted her head from her slouch. "I think she means that pilot of the Strike."

"_Hai_! That's the one!" Rena nodded enthusiastically and grinned at Hitomi mischievously.

Luna-_Taichou_ spat out her drink and gagged. "What? You mean Kira-_san_?" she said with total surprise when she was able to talk again.

Hitomi felt red all over her face. "What are you talking about? I never said anything-"

"Yeah but you always dream about him at night, isn't that true? You call out his name in your sleep." Rena put her face closer to Hitomi, who felt like she wanted to melt in the heat and ask for a transfer to some faraway backwater.

"That's not true. Maddy, help me out here!" Hitomi pleaded to her more quiet and sensible friend. But Madison just shrugged and replied in a way that didn't help Hitomi a lot. "But I also heard you the other night. Sorry, but that's the truth, Minamoto."

Hitomi felt deflated. She never felt so embarrassed in her entire life. _Well not as embarrassed as my close encounter with Kira Yamato. But just as close_. She glanced fearfully at Luna-_Taichou_, scared from anticipation of whatever she might say. But the _Taichou_ just smiled and placed her hand on hers sympathetically.

"It's a normal thing, Hitomi, to have a crush with war heroes," Luna-_Taichou_ said. "I went through the same thing, me and my sister. You guys heard the stories going around the crew, I guess, about the two of us having this crush with Athrun Zala?" The three girls nodded. "Well, it's hard to admit, but that's true. I did like him a lot, especially when he came back after re-enlisting. He was a FAITH member, he piloted the newest mobile suit in the inventory, and he became the commander of our team then. Not to mention he was a handsome and dashing war hero. He was a very nice guy, albeit in the shy and quiet way."

Luna-_Taichou_ paused in nostalgic bliss then blinked when she saw the three sets of eyes staring at her curiously. "Well I didn't push things. At the time I though he was still with 'Lacus Clyne', but it turned out to be wrong and the 'Lacus' I met hanging around him was a fake. Turns out he had this thing going with the Orb's Chief Representative. Being a female world leader has its perks, it seems - _handsome_ bodyguards must be part of the package."

"So in the end nothing happened, and it was my sister that got involved with Athrun. Meyrin took the chance when she helped him escape, and now they're both on Orb." Hitomi saw a frown form on the _Taichou's_ face. "I don't know if there's anything going on between them, not that it really matters." Luna-_Taichou_ took another sip from her drink. "By the way, Hitomi-_chan_ - you do know Athrun and Kira are best friends?"

"Eh? Err. _Hai_."

"Figures," Luna-_Taichou_ said in response. "You'd probably know everything about Kira-_san_. Well _almost _everything."

Hitomi blinked. "What do you mean, _Taichou_?"

"Sorry, Hitomi-_chan_," Luna-_Taichou_ said. "There are things I can't tell you. Need to know basis." She smiled at Hitomi. "You're really that interested with Kira-_san_, huh?

"_Taichou-_"

"I'm just kidding okay?" the _Taichou_ quickly said. "Jeez, Minamoto. You should learn to lighten up a bit."

An uncomfortable quiet fell upon their table. Luna-_Taichou_ kept watching Hitomi with concern. Rena looked full of sorry, having been the one who started this conversation.

Hitomi felt ashamed and wanting to go back to the ship and hide under her bed. _Am I really this obvious when it comes to Kira Yamato?_ Hitomi thought of the all the times she thought about the brown haired war hero with the mysterious purple eyes, how many times she recollected their short meeting, and how many times she wished that it could happen again. It was foolish to think so much about an innocent crush she might have, but she couldn't help it.

But she knew she had to do something about it. It wouldn't be good for her image as a competent professional mobile suit pilot to have such silly things on her mind. But she was also a fifteen year old girl, just learning the ways of the world, never been in a real relationship with boys her age, what more a mature man like Kira-_san_.

Madison kept her peace, with her eyes shifting from Luna-Taichou and Hitomi. She was the first to break the silence, coming up with an idea to change the subject. "So what are we doing tonight, _Taichou_? Do you have any plans?"

"No. Not really," Luna answered. "I really didn't decide anything. I was thinking you girls would come up of something."

"I know!" Rena exclaimed, jumping out of her chair. "Let's go clubbing tonight!"

"_Clubbing_?" Madison asked with a groan.

"Yeah! I heard there's this new place downtown. The _Spyglass_, or something like that."

The _Taichou_ nodded. "Yeah, Abi told me something about that place, so let's invite her to come along. We'll go if you girls like. I better go along to keep my eyes on _you_." Rena nodded happily, while Madison just mouthed her 'yes'. The _Taichou_ turned to Hitomi. "What about you?"

"Well-"

"Come on girl! It'll be fun! Think of all the cute boys there! _Please_!" Rena begged.

"Okay," Hitomi submitted with reluctance. "I'll go."

"Good! We'll have a great time." Rena stood up from her chair and started to collect her numerous shopping bags. "_Taichou_, could we go back to the ship first? I need to change. I gotta look good for all those guys that's gonna be at the club tonight!"

* * *

_**Archangel**_

_**Somewhere In The South Pacific**_

_**December 30, CE 74**_

Murrue never looked up from her laptop as the door to her ready room hissed open. She knew it was him that came in, since nobody else had the gall to enter her room unheeded during the night when she was still awake. It became their usual habit in the evening, with Mu dropping by for a cup of coffee as Murrue finished her work, talking for a while before she turned in for the night. So she didn't have to watch as Mu poured himself a cup from the coffee maker, and sat in front of her desk.

They spent a few minutes of silence, with Murrue continuing her reading and Mu having sips from his hot cup. "Guess what happened this afternoon at the hanger bay." Mu said in opening, ending the quiet time between them.

"Don't tell me Kira and Shinn had another verbal go-around."

"No," Mu said. "Something even better."

"And what is that," Murrue asked absentmindedly.

"Well I saw the Shinn kid starting to work on the Phoenix, and the Chief said it was going along well." Mu proclaimed.

What Mu said made Murrue stop in her tracks. She looked at him over the laptop's monitor. "And how did that happen? I thought he was adamant not to touch that thing!" She asked quizzically.

Mu took another sip, a grin playing on his face. "It looks like Dearka got him _motivated_ to work, to use his words. Don't ask me how he did it. I don't know and like what Athrun said, _I don't want to know_."

Murrue sat back and sighed. "I just hope Dearka didn't do anything out of regulations. We don't need any more trouble that we already have."

Mu looked at her strangely. "You're sounding a lot like Natarle was - talking about the _regs_."

Murrue glared at him. "Unlike you Mu La Flaga, I still follow regulations. You're breaking one now just by being in my room."

"What rule am I breaking?" Mu asked. "There's no regulation that I know of that prohibits _fraternizing_ between officers."

Murrue smiled and held Mu's hand. "That's not it, my love -although sometimes I wish there _was_ one like that."

Mu looked confused. "What then?"

Murrue smiled a lot more with sweetness. "Don't _you_ have watch duty up on the bridge tonight, my love? And aren't _you_ the duty officer in command? Your shift started fifteen minutes ago I believe."

Mu blinked. "Uh, yeah."

Murrue's smile changed into a glare. "So what are you doing here then?"

Mu swallowed. "Having a cup?" He gestured his mug.

"Its not your break time, _Taisa_. You're on duty. I think its better you should go up to bridge _now_."

Mu suddenly stood up. "And I think you're right. I'll leave you to finish and get your beauty sleep, my dear _Kanchou!_." He clumsily stumbled off his chair and dashed out of her quarters.

Mu sighed once more and turned off her PC. She slumped on her desk, head on its surface. _Why did I fall in love with that fool? I guess I'm a fool myself, _she said with a small smile.

* * *

Kira was surprised to see Lacus sitting before his work desk in his quarters this late in the evening. He had just completed his work on his mobile suit, finishing most of the maintenance work, but probably spent more time keeping an eye on Shinn. The black haired Coordinator had secluded himself inside the Phoenix, and was still there even when Kira left to rest. Kira was exhausted with all the work, but was pleasantly stimulated to see the love of his life waiting for him. "Hey." 

"Hi," Lacus said smiling, closing down the laptop on his table. "I wanted to wait for you, since you weren't at the mess hall for dinner. I just stayed here and worked on some papers. I hope you don't mind me using your console."

"No problem." Kira unzipped his dirty jumpsuit and started to get out of it, but then stopped when he saw Lacus again. "Uh, Lacus -"

"Don't mind me, Kira - but please take a shower. I'm sorry to say this but you _smell_ like the Strike Freedom," she said giggling, a red spot forming on her creamy cheeks.

Embarrassed, Kira entered his bathroom and took off his clothes, then got into the shower. He activated the shower, the warm water spray rejuvenating his body. He luxuriated in the refreshing delight, letting the water flow down his tired body.

"Shinn's started working on the Phoenix," Kira called out above the noise of the shower.

"That's good," was all of Lacus' reply.

The doorway opened and a hand appeared. It tossed a clean white shirt and blue shorts into the bathroom, which landed beside the sink. "Uh, Kira, please wear this," said Lacus, as her hand disappeared once more.

Smiling inwardly, Kira took a towel and dried himself off. _Sometimes Lacus could be so domestic. I guess she's trying to get used to that, now that we're engaged. I better get used to that myself. We both have to prepare for our lives together, as long as no one notices too much_. He and Lacus agreed to not to tell anyone of their engagement yet, satisfied to wait until things had quieted down enough for all to live in peace_. I just hope we could work things out so that happens soon_.

He got into the clean clothes and proceeded to brush his teeth. He looked himself at the mirror and like what he saw. His hair was longer than usual, and he looked to be growing in height and build. _Although my tummy's growing from all that sweets I keep in the cockpit. _Kira frowned at his own reflection._ You need to get back into shape, Yamato._

"Had you had something to eat, Kira?" Lacus said from the main room.

Kira began to dry his hair. "Yeah, I had something to bite inside the cockpit." _Again_. He mentally reminded himself to take out the trash, but remembered that he left the trash bag under his cockpit seat_. Again_.

He got out of the bathroom and into the main room once more and saw that Lacus wasn't sitting in front of the work desk anymore. In fact, she was _lying_ down on _his_ bed, wearing one of _his_ shirts and boxer shorts, her _yukata_-like dress neatly folded on the other bed. She was lying down with her eyes closed, her lithe body in a cradling position. "Lacus -"

"Yes, Kira?" she mumbled her reply.

"W-what are you doing? You can't sleep here. You better go back to your room or people might-"

"Come to bed, Kira," was her reply, cutting him off.

"But Lacus -"

Lacus opened her eyes. "I just want to be beside you, Kira."

Hesitantly, Kira approached the bed. Lacus lazily held out one hand, and Kira took it. Gently Lacus led him to lie beside her, and he slowly did. He slid himself onto the bed, and Lacus cradled closer to him. He held her with a light embrace, and Lacus laid her head on his arm. Lacus buried her face on his chest and rubbed it slowly with her cheeks. Kira feeling embarrassed and a little aroused, covered her with the blanket, and settled into his pillow.

"I just want to be with you, Kira," Lacus whispered.

"Lacus, I -"

Lacus looked at him straight in the eye. "Don't you want this?"

Kira gulped, stopped for a second, before he nodded. "I do Lacus, more than anything else. But it's just that -"

"Don't worry, Kira," giggled Lacus, tracing his chest with her finger. "I don't want to do anything else. I'm not ready for _it_."

_It_. Something they never really talked about - but now they knew they had to face it soon, now that they had promised to each other something more profound, more special. "I know. I'm not ready myself," Kira whispered.

Lacus kept her gaze at him, a hint of confusion forming in her eyes.

Kira smiled back. "It's not what you think." Kira gently poked Lacus' nose. "I want that to be _perfect_. I don't want to force anything on you if you don't want it to happen yet. I want that moment to be special for both of us, because you're special. I can wait for you, Lacus - truly I can."

"You'll wait till I'm ready?"

"I promise - I can do it. We have the rest of our lives in front of us. I want it to be happy for you."

Kira kissed Lacus sweetly on her lips. "I love you."

"I know," she whispered with a smile.

* * *

_**Cali, Columbia**_

_**Occupied South America**_

_**December 30, CE 74**_

"Hello." The colonel answered his cellular phone. The display did not show any information from the call, whether an identification of the caller nor a phone number. At first the colonel felt unsure if he would answer, but now he felt more tension as he heard the voice he dreaded to hear.

"Execute Case Green," the low voice from the other line said.

It was _him_. And he had given the colonel the command. "It will be done."

"Good" The line clicked dead.

The colonel looked at his phone, his minding racing over the magnitude of the call, and the magnitude of what the command meant. _I've been given the order to change the world._ He stood up from his chair, and went to his kitchen, mulling over his plans over a bottle of Scotch.

* * *

_**The Spyglass Club**_

_**Gibraltar City**_

_**Gibraltar**_

_**December 30, CE 74**_

Shizukana (hoy!) Kono yoru ni (hoy!) Anata wo (hoy!) Matteru no 

"_Taichou_, I have a question."

_Ano toki (h_o_y!) Wasureta (h_o_y!) Hohoemi wo (h_o_y!) Tori ni kite_

"What is it, Rena?"

_Are kara (h_o_y!) Sukoshi dake (h_o_y!) Jikan ga (h_o_y!) Sugite_

"Why do you wear a pink mini skirt with your red uniform?"

_Omoide ga yasashiku natta ne._

"Because I like to."

_Hoshi no (h_o_y!) Furu basho de (h_o_y!)_

"But isn't that against regulations, ma'am?"

_Anata ga (h_o_y!) Waratte irukoto wo (h_o_y!) _

"Not really. Well, I don't really know or care."

_Itsumo (h_o_y!) negatteta (h_o_y!) _

"Uhmm, okay. So does that mean we can wear minis with our uniforms?"

"_Iie_."

_Ima tookutemo (h_o_y!)_

"Why not, _Taichou_?"

"Because I said so."

_Mata aeru yo ne (L-A-C-U-S Lacus-sama!)_

"But _Taichou_-"

"You sure have a lot of questions. Maybe _you_ want to go back to the ship early, Ms. Ellington? You could go on ahead." Luna-Taichou glared at Rena.

"No! I don't mind staying." Rena looked liked she would melt from fright. "I was just curious. No need to worry about what I said, _Taichou_."

Hitomi listened listlessly at Luna-_Taichou_ and Rena's exchange. It was hard to listen, with the song 'In the Quiet Night CE 73' blaring loudly from the club's sound system. The club was packed with partygoers, mostly young kids, professionals and several ZAFT personnel enjoying a night of dancing, booze and socializing. Hitomi would have enjoyed the fun atmosphere, but she still felt awkward from the teasing she got from her companions that afternoon. Add to the fact that she wasn't comfortable with the blue dress and skirt she wore. She felt like people was watching her, and she felt ill at ease.

They had already spent a good deal of three hours at this place, with Rena already having danced with six different men. Some tried to ask Hitomi, _Chu-I_ Windsor and Luna-_Taichou_ to dance, but Hitomi refused and the Taichou and Windsor didn't go back to the dance floor after a round of hard dancing. Nobody wanted to approach Madison, who exuded a dangerous talk-to-me-and-die aura with her silent stares and military looking pants and tank-top combo.

Hitomi wanted to go home. She just didn't feel at ease around here and she wasn't sure why. Maybe it's the lights - they were too shiny and dizzying. Maybe it's because of the music - being too loud and wild. Maybe it's the drinks - maybe she had one too many. Maybe the closeness of the people dancing and partying, the smoke in the air, the sweat and body heat was too stifling and she was having a hard time breathing. Or maybe all those who strangers stealing glances at her, hoping that she make eye contact, or just leering at her.

_Maybe because that guy up there is staring at me. And I can't help but like the feeling._ Hitomi stole another brief glance at him, who was sitting on a table by the ledge of the split-level mezzanine of the club, just watching the dancing cloud, and from the way she noticed him, watching her. He looks like he was of her age - dark green eyes looked with sad wisdom out from an unruly mass of light green hair. He seemed to be quiet, not really talking to his companion, a blonde-haired young woman whose simple beauty seemed marred by the serious frown in her face. The man wasn't even drinking anything, and just looked to be content to watch his environment. But he kept looking at her direction, but would look away when Hitomi noticed him.

What was more irritating for Hitomi was his reaction when Hitomi looked at him. He didn't seem embarrassed, more like a little amused. Hitomi knew she should feel a little insulted, but she felt none of that. In fact she felt intrigued, and, in which it bothered her a little, more, felt enjoying this little game.

_What is it with me and boys nowadays_, Hitomi told herself. _First it was Kira Yamato, who I think I could never reach, and now I'm flirting with a guy I've never even met, and - with my luck - probably never will._ Hitomi sighed as he looking at her icy drink, and tried to feign interest at the conversation going around their table. Rena had disappeared once more, and was probably dancing up a storm in the club's dance floor. The other three were talking about something, but Hitomi didn't really here them. She sighed once more, but this time _Chu-I_ Windsor, who was sitting at her right, heard her.

"Are you okay, Hitomi-_chan_?" Windsor asked. "You look pale."

Hitomi gave her a small smile. "I'm okay ma'am. I guess I'm just tired. I not used to all this clubbing thingy."

"You want to go back and rest? We could go now you know." Luna-Taichou offered.

"_Iie_. You guys are enjoying tonight. I guess I just can't take all the heat and smoke. I can go by myself." Hitomi slung her bag on her shoulder and started to stand up.

"Look Hitomi. We could end the night and go with you." Madison offered.

"It's no problem, Maddy, I'm fine." Hitomi bowed to the three. "Thank you for the evening. But I guess I'll just go back to the ship. I'll be okay. You should worry more about Rena. Enjoy the rest of the night." Before the three could say anything else, Hitomi dove for the crowd, navigating her way through the thick mass of bodies.

Hitomi pushed and slipped through the narrow gaps between revelers. It was getting harder for her to breathe, as she mixed the stale air with the exhausting process of getting out of the crowded bar. She stole one more glance to the direction of the green-haired young man, but he wasn't at his table anymore. _Must have left with his girlfriend. Oh well_.

She was just passing near the doorway when a man stopped her. He was a large brute, with spiky red hair topping his ugly mug of a face. He was flanked by two other guys, scrawny looking ones with the same level of ugliness as the red haired one. "Hey, gorgeous! You wanna have some fun with us tonight?" he said.

"No, sorry." Hitomi just slipped pass by, bumping shoulders with one of the brute's companions. She dashed through the door and ran for a corner, before she stopped to catch her breath. She took in the city's air, which had a touch of the sea's salty breeze, which was way better than the stale, foul air of the club. Hitomi started walking down the street, which was eerily bereft of people, on the general direction of the ZAFT base, some ten blocks away. He glanced around the street for a taxi, but seeing none, she continued to walk.

An uneasy feeling began to grow from here stomach. She felt like someone was following her. She increased her pace as fast as her stiletto shoes could, looking back peripherally for a tailer. She saw no one, but the eerie feeling she felt was still there. She also felt not just one, but two presences, and that added to her alarm. She tried to fool whoever was there by turning onto a corner, which ended on an L-shaped corridor leading out to another main road. She though she lost her pursuer, as she saw the empty road at the other end of her detour.

Too late, as trouble appeared in the form of the two scrawny men she saw at the bar, now standing in front of her. Hitomi stopped and tensed, raising her alertness against danger. They moved slowly towards her, forcing her back to the L-corner. She felt her pursuer slow down his pace, and stand a few meters to her back. "I told we'd have some fun tonight, whether you like it or not." It was the red-haired brute, talking evilly with the deep baritone.

Hitomi assessed the situation quickly, determining that she had to escape to avoid getting hurt. But the three had blocked her way. She decided to risk it, even though she knew that was a stupid thing to do. Her hand automatically went for the dog tag around her neck hidden between her breasts. She broke the tag in two, hoping that the built in emergency rescue beacon would be activated and help from the others or security forces could come for her in time. In the meantime took up a fighting stance, trying to project herself as a threat to her attackers. "It would be better if you'd just let me go," she said with false bravado, Hitomi trying her best to keep the trembling from her voice. "That would be the best for you, you know."

"Well, this missy is a fighter," the brute said with an crooked smile. "I like fighters. I like to make 'em scream in pain and delight. Don't I, boys?" The two companions laughed maniacally with their leader. "Very well. We'll do it your way. I'll break your pretty face before I enjoy the rest of you!" The brute launched himself at Hitomi, diving at her for a full body tackle. But Hitomi was ready, sidestepping to her right and grabbing the brute by his shoulder. Using his momentum against him, Hitomi pushed out, sending the brute sprawling into a heap on the ground.

The two others saw what happened to their boss, and started to move to get revenge. One attacked from Hitomi's left with a clumsy punch. Hitomi tried to hit first by slashing out with her shoulder bag. The bag caught the man on the face - while it didn't do much harm, it caught the man with surprise. Hitomi followed up with her knee to the man's groin, and with a cry of pain, he collapsed as well.

The other one more cautious - he forced Hitomi to circle around to avoid him, buying time for his bigger ally to get up. He lunged threateningly at Hitomi, but never continued the attack, but it forced Hitomi back to a wall. Hitomi looked to the corridor, on the way back to the bar for escape, but she saw the shadow of another man coming towards her. She thought that he must be another of her attackers' buddies, and she felt her helplessness grow.

Then as the big brute had just planted his feet back up from the ground, the last one struck out with a snap kick. Hitomi blocked it with both hands, but the force was too strong for her, and she momentarily lost her own balance. As tried to regain her position, the big one was already beside her. A backhand blow caught her by the chin. Pain exploded on her face, and she saw blood spray. She spun out of control momentarily, before she could steady herself. She inched away from her two attackers, looking for a way out.

The big brute brought out an evil looking butterfly knife, revealing its blade after a few twists of the handles. "I thought I'd just be beating you up, missy. But know I think I'll just cut you."

Hitomi saw movement from behind the brute. The shadow was moving forward fast, but rather than aiming for her, it was rushing for the brute. Gauging its strategy, and hoping that it was there to help her, Hitomi decided quickly. _Gotta take the chance_. She struck out with a short punch, which didn't come close to hitting the brute. The brute saw this as a mistake and began to lunge for her, knife in the fore.

Again Hitomi gauged his attack well and spun on her heels to avoid the attack, just as the same time as the shadow hit the brute with a full force tackle. The brute lost his balance once again, and lost all control as the shadow nailed him with a rib-cracking kick at his chest. The brute fell, dropping the knife in the process.

The other one standing made a grab at the knife, but Hitomi stepped on his hand with her stiletto heel. The stiletto broke, but pierced enough of the hands skin to force blood to spurt out. The man cried out in pain, but the cry was cut by a kick to the face from the shadow, sending the man unconscious.

"You idiots had enough?" Hitomi heard a new voice say. It was her unknown ally speaking. "Don't you know it's not nice to treat a lady in this way. Or maybe you guys never got to learn that after you flunked kindergarten."

The big brute growled in rage as he launched himself from the floor. He tried to grab the shadow with both hands, hoping to crush him. But the shadow struck out with an open palm strike, that hit the brute squarely in the face. And then, with an unnatural speed, the shadow grabbed the chin, circled to the back of the brute, grabbed an arm and put it behind the brute's head, and pinned him with a choke grip.

The brute tried to struggle free himself, but the shadow shifted direction to avoid the brute's free hand, and the shadow pinned the brute's back with his right knee. The two knelt to the ground, the shadow in complete control of the brute. The strangle hold continued for another minute, before the brute slumped, all his breath cut off from him. The shadow released his grip, and the unconscious brute dropped limply to the ground.

The shadow stood and walked over to her, and holding her by her hips, helped Hitomi to her feet "Are you all right?" Hitomi looked at him, and had her first clear view of who her champion was.

It was the young man she saw at the club. He stood there, looking kindly at her. He didn't look hurt, albeit the sweat glistened on his light-green hair. He watched her with concern, but his eyes darted back and forth between her and the fallen thugs.

Hitomi nodded, breathing heavily. "_Hai_, just a little winded." She didn't want to tell him, but her body ached all over. His gentle grip and lifting action belied his strength, but the man was careful in helping her stand. She felt safe around the young man and his strong warm touch.

"You've got a cut on your lips. Here, let me clean it." The man took out a handkerchief, and gently dabbed the blood off Hitomi's lips.

"Thanks for the help. I wouldn't know what might had happened if you didn't show up."

"You fought well yourself, miss. But the last one had a knife and I can't just let him have his way with you."

"Ah, well -"

The sound of powerful car engine drowned out Hitomi's words. Both of them watched as a black convertible sports care screeched to a stop. A beautiful young woman with blonde hair looked over at them from the driver's seat. She spared a small glance to Hitomi then turned to the young man. "What are you still doing here? We were supposed to be at the hotel fifteen minutes ago."

"Sorry, but I had to help this young lady here."

The blonde woman frowned at Hitomi, as if sizing her up. Hitomi matched her stare, but felt an aura of invincibility from the woman that she was intimidated, and looked away. "Whatever. Let's go."

"_Hai_." The young man smiled at Hitomi. "I guess I have to go. You'll be okay. Here come your friends right now."

Hitomi looked to her back, and saw her friends running towards her, some military and civilian police following them. "Hitomi!" Rena shouted at her.

Hitomi waved to them that she was fine. She turned back to the man, who she saw was already getting to the empty seat in the front of the car. "Hey! At least tell me your name!"

The man smiled at her once more. "It's Leva."

"Wait, Leva!" Hitomi cried out, but the car was already starting to move. Hitomi felt her _Taichou's_ hand on her shoulder, and she saw the look of concern in her face.

"What happened to you? Are you all right, Hitomi-_chan_?" Luna-_Taichou_ asked. Madison and Rena also crowded her, watching over her. The policemen were surrounding her unconscious attackers, restraining them. _Chu-I _Windsor was watching Leva and the woman.

"I'm okay, ma'am. Those thugs tried to mug me. But thanks to Leva they didn't get to do it." Hitomi pointed at the young man. Her four companions looked them over silently, until Luna-_Taichou's_ eyes grew seemingly with shock.

Luna-_Taichou_ started to chase after the two, shoving aside the three and stood at the edge of the road. But Leva and woman sped off furiously. "Wait!" She shouted at the speeding car, which almost sideswiped the _Taichou_. "_Stop!_" But the driver didn't heed her, and soon the car disappeared, as it turned hard around a corner into the night.

"_Taichou_, what's going on?" Madison asked, but the _Taichou's_ attention kept on the road, her eyes wide with confusion.

"_No!_ She can't be alive. I saw her _die_!" Luna-Taichou cried out. "_She just can't be alive!"_

Luna-_Taichou_ fell on her knees by the side of the road. "Why must you come back to haunt me! You already took away Shinn from me! _What else do you want from me!_" she screamed sobbing, tears running down her face. Windsor rushed to her side to hug her comfortingly. Hitomi and the others just gathered around her, not understanding what happened and what brought this outburst of grief and anger from their normally strong-willed commander.

* * *

**_Life goes on…_**

_**Namida de nijinda **_

_**Kono sora wo miageru tabi**_

_**Hakanai aosa ga **_

_**Mune wo shimedzuketeku**_

_**Sadame nara **_

_**Kanashimi no hate made**_

_**Tatakaitsudzuketa **_

_**Hibi wo ato ni**_

_**Life Goes On, Moeagaru**_

_**Inochi ga, Aru kagiri**_

_**Shinjitsu no, Jibun sae **_

_**Miushinaisou soredemo**_

_**Life Goes On, Mamoritakute**_

_**Kokoro wa, Kudakarete**_

_**Hontou no, Kanashimi wo **_

_**Shitta hitomi wa**_

_**Ai ni afurete…

* * *

**_


	9. Phase Eight

_**Author's Notes:**_

_Again I like to thank all those who have read the story, and all those who have favorably reviewed the last chapter, like irishdragon, nick2951, Warp Ligia Obscura, and cajunman380. Also Greater Avenger for his constructive and insightful views regarding the fiction. I appreciate your effort to review Renaissance and hopefully I could improve it integrating your ideas._

_I considered the scene between Dearka and Shinn to be a gamble. I was looking for a way to make Shinn see some reason and loosen up with his hate for the Terminal organization, and I took a chance by using Dearka, since he never really met Shinn before, he doesn't really care if Shinn would act violent around him and therefore there was no previous history between them. I'm glad you guys liked it._

_I also want to thank my friend Wallace, who (unfortunately) was my inspiration on how to portray Shinn's bad behavior. He had role-played Shinn in our gang's RPG sessions, and brilliantly acted out Shinn's obnoxiousness. He had started to read Renaissance and humbly (?) said that Shinn sounded a lot like him._

_Some trivia about my OCs: The members of the Twenty First Composite Mobile Suit Platoon of the USSA rebels are based on player characters I RP'd when I was a member of the Internet based Macross RPG groups, the MRC and MRN. I had a lot of notes from them so I adapted them for use in the Gundam SEED universe. Players from the group, former and present who may have read about them may recognize the similarities. I also recommend to newbie writers with interest in RPG to join such groups to help develop writing skills; I honed most of my storytelling by playing on these boards._

_Hitomi Minamoto is a character I created in honor of Maaya Sakamoto, the singer, stage actress, movie actress and voice actress that played Lunamaria Hawke in Gundam SEED Destiny. I named her Hitomi in honor of the lead character in Escaflowne, whom Sakamoto voiced as her very first and arguably most popular anime character. Hitomi's surname of Minamoto is in honor of Gundam SEED's tradition of naming their protagonists using surnames based on historical periods in medieval Japan (Yamato, Asuka), although as a twist I used a name of a historical figure from that era. _

_This is my longest chapter to date, even excluding my long ranting here. I've tried to improve the orchestration of mecha combat and action sequences, to show a fuller representation of the battles. I hope you all enjoy Phase Eight of Renaissance._

_SEED mode on!

* * *

_

_**Disclaimers: **_

_Mobile Suit Gundam SEED is owned and copyrighted by Mitsuo Fukuda, the Sotsu Agency, Sunrise and BANDAI._

_Maaya Sakamoto is an artist under the label of Victor Entertainment.

* * *

_

**Phase Eight: TheFires Of The Last Night Of The Year

* * *

**

"_I was never really comfortable with covert operations. Though regular people think about those as glamour missions led by dashing heroes in exotic lands, they probably never had a glimpse as to how dangerous they really were. My experiences in such missions as Heliopolis and Orb made me realize a fact – not only were covert ops the most hazardous missions a soldier can take, but they are also the one with the less gratitude. A government will never publicly acknowledge such mission – if you die, you die an unknown man."_

- Athrun Zala, _Father's Son– An Autobiography of Athrun Zala

* * *

_

_**Archangel**_

**_Somewhere In The South Pacific _**

**_December 30, CE 73_**

In the lower levels of the venerable mobile suit carrier, located below the main crew quarters and near the main water boilers, was the _Archangel's_ most eccentric feature. When the _Archangel_ underwent a major refit following the signing of the Junius 7 Treaty, Morgenraete Industries modified the vessel and allowed it to operate underwater as a fully functional military submarine.

The decision to upgrade the _Archangel_ was the product of the need to address the ship's vulnerability during combat in the open sea, as accumulated combat data had showed. This modification meant a major upgrade of the ship's systems, including that of the water purification and utilization features. Ballast tanks were placed along the hull, larger boiler systems were installed, and saltwater purification was adapted for use of water from the deep oceans.

As the ship fully integrated these new additions, Erica Simmons took advantage of the refit to add a more aesthetic but welcomed upgrade, something the crew could enjoy during their free hours. At first Murrue was skeptical with Erica's plant to install a hot spring bath inside the ship, but out curiosity she allowed her Coordinator friend to continue.

She was well pleased by the completion of this special project, which the crew dubbed the Angel's Bath, and since then everyone board the ship had savored this little luxury. It was very appealing to them - with an almost limitless supply of desalinized saltwater to fill the two small, rectangular bath areas, divided evenly between members of the opposite sexes. For an artistic touch, a crewman with a talent in painting had drawn a panoramic representation of an authentic mountain hot spring on the walls of the bath areas, giving the ambience of traditional Japanese outdoor bathing area.

At that moment Murrue was luxuriating in the hot, steamy water, relaxing after a long, eight-hour shift on the bridge. The _Archangel_ was still a few days from its first stop, a point in the vast South Pacific were the carrier was to surface briefly to gather communiqués from Orb via its communications satellite. Murrue wanted to gather as much new information as she can, then submerged once more, waiting for the satellite to return on its next pass to send news back to Waltfeld and Kisaka. But for now the ship was enjoying a quiet run deep underwater, with no possible threats within significant radius of the ship. So she allowed herself this little luxury, leaving command of the ship in the capable hands of Mu, who acted as her executive officer in the same time as her mobile suit commander.

She sat happily naked, only her head above the misty bath, a wet towel perched on her forehead. Murrue was currently sharing the bath with Lacus, who was also a frequent visitor to the Angel's Bath. The songstress had her long pink hair in a bun, and quietly discussing more mundane topics with Murrue. The pink Haro, Lacus ever present and irrepressible robotic companion, was absent, shut down and sitting quietly on the open shelves of the women's dressing area a door away.

They were continuing their conversation about their men in their lives when the door to the women's area slid open, revealing a towel-clad Meyrin Hawke, with a look of surprise in her face, looking down at Murrue and Lacus. "_Gomen nasai_, but I thought there was no one in here."

Murrue smiled. "It's all right, Meyrin-_chan_. Come on in and join us. The water's great." Lacus nodded her agreement. Shyly, Meyrin slid into the water, keeping the towel around her. She kept stealing glanced over towards the wall facing the men's area, as if worried that someone might come over from there. "Don't worry. That's a real steel wall with a fake painting. The only way the boys can come over here is through the main hall. And though they could hear us, they won't dare eavesdrop. This is the one place the boys won't bother us girls under the threat of a painful death." Murrue chuckled.

Somewhat satisfied, Meyrin took off the towel and placed it beside the pool. She settled into the bath, her eyes closing as she enjoyed the first sensations of heat from the water. "I heard from Kira-_san_ about this place, so I thought I'd try it."

"Kira does frequently use this place," Lacus filled Meyrin in. "But he usually goes in here alone. Kira says Athrun and the others don't like to use the place as much as he does."

Murrue noticed the sharp intake of breath from Meyrin at the mention of Athrun's name, but she tried to hide it by blowing bubbles on the water. Apparently Lacus noticed it too. "Penny for your thoughts, Meyrin-_chan_?" Lacus asked.

"It's nothing, really."

Lacus smiled. "Is it about Athrun?"

Murrue stifled a giggle as Meyrin blushed from the direct frankness of how Lacus asked her. _Lacus could be so straight to the point sometimes_.

"Well-"

Lacus waved her arm slowly on the water, forming ripples. "I understand how you're feeling, Meyrin-_chan_."

"Is it okay with you?" Meyrin asked timidly. "How I feel about him."

Lacus gave her a clueless look. "What do you mean?"

"You know," Meyrin said. "You were his fiancée before, right?"

Murrue giggled. Lacus spared her a glance then sat straighter. "But that was all in the past. Like I told you before - it was an engagement just arranged between our parents."

"You mean you don't really care for him? Not enough to marry him, I mean."

This time it was Lacus' turn to become red-faced. "No, I care about Athrun a lot. We were engaged, we _had_ feelings for each other, but we were both young and we outgrew it. Puppy love, I guess you could call it." Lacus shifted where she sat in the water. "When I took the chance to help Kira, I was branded as a traitor and our engagement was ended. I found my place in the world, with someone I care for and cares for me back." Lacus smiled - a smile that Murrue noticed had a different, more intimate meaning beneath it. "And Athrun went on his separate way and may have found someone for himself, for which I am happy for him."

"Chief Representative Cagalli Yula Athha." It wasn't a question from Meyrin, more like a statement of fact.

Lacus nodded. "I know you know what there is between those two. It's _confusing_, I know, how they act," Lacus paused, and Murrue saw the uncomfortable look that passed through Meyrin's face.

"You really care about Athrun, do you, Meyrin-_chan_?" Murrue asked.

"Uhmm, well I –"

Murrue smiled. "It's ok, Meyrin-chan. It just show so much in you how much you care about him."

Meyrin looked at her then sank deeper into the water. "_Hai_."

"But you understand how hard it's going to be - for you and Athrun both."

Meyrin answered with a nod. "Athrun-_san_ is kind to me, and he takes care of me. He never lets me down, and he's always there when I feel down."

"That sounds like Athrun." Lacus said, smiling and nodding wisely.

"But I know he's still in love with Cagalli-_sama_," Meyrin continued. "I can't deny that. You could see it in his eyes. I know I have no right to get involved with him. But ever since Cagalli-_sama_ left him to me when we left to fight Chairman Dullindal, it's been both difficult and _exciting_ for me. I know I shouldn't exploit the chance that I could get close to Athrun-_san_, but it's just so _tempting_. And Athrun-_san's_ not really _helping_." Meyrin sighed. "I wish he wasn't so nice to me all the time."

"I know what you mean, Meyrin-_chan_," Lacus said. "Like I said, that's how Athrun is."

Murrue nodded. "He's naturally a kind person, so it's easy to be attracted to him. But from what I see in him and what Kira-_kun_ has told me, he's still going through a hard time. He's trying to find out his place in the world, and it's been very hard for him."

Lacus picked up were Murrue finished. "Give him time, Meyrin-_chan_. Sooner or later he'll see how important you are to him. And if its not meant to be, remember that you're still young and very pretty. There are a lot of boys out there who will definitely like you and make you happy."

"Thank you _Kanchou_ and Lacus-_san_. Thanks for listening to me," Meyrin bowed. "And I'm sorry if I said something bad about Cagalli-_sama_. I really like and respect her."

Murrue smiled. "Don't worry, Meyrin-_chan_. You didn't say anything wrong. If Cagalli were here she'd have sounded as confused as you are. Remember that she's still very young, the same as you or Lacus. She can't get her mind focused on Athrun because of all the things she has to do as a nation's leader. And now that she was injured and her home's attacked, things are going to be tougher for her."

"All you could do for Athrun-_kun_ now is just support him. We'll be going to face certain dangers at the end of this trip, and Athrun and the boys must be at their best. They rely on us for that support. So let's do our best to give it to them and not make them worry."

* * *

_CPC modulator calibration set to twenty-six percent. Vernier thruster vectoring system upgraded to maximum variance. Energy transfer conduit flow for the anti-ship sword upgraded to point six. Palmina Focina focusing system set to green. Ultra-compact nuclear reactor safety protocol set to standard._

Shinn was continuing his work on the Destiny Phoenix, expertly upgrading its G.U.N.D.A.M. operating system to its optimal performance levels. The technicians of Terminal had replaced the OS, using a variant of the ones that were installed on the Freedom and Justice series of mobile suits. They also replaced the hyper deuterion reactor with a more common ultra-compact one, albeit one of a newer, more efficient design. Shinn understood the reason why Terminal_'s _techs changed the system - they did not possess the technology to utilize the deuterion beam system, a more recent design feature which the _Archangel_ didn't have, so they removed that component when they rebuilt the mobile suit.

Even though he first declared to everyone that he wouldn't have anything to do with the mobile suit, Shinn was beginning to change that principle. He didn't want to admit to himself, but Shinn hasn't felt more calm and collected as the time he spent inside the cockpit ever since he joined the _Archangel's_ crew. He felt concentrated on his work, hammering fast upon the keyboard as he studied and reprogrammed the OS. He knew this was doing him good, but he still felt some stubbornness when it came to working and cooperating with the other pilots and techs, specifically Yamato and Neo. But he knew that if he would fly once more in this mobile suit he would have to fly with them, and that was a prospect Shinn didn't relish.

Fortunately for him - albeit he adamantly denies it - he had been getting good support from some of the crew - the ones who could take the verbal abuse and rudeness Shinn show from time to time. Elsman was the first of these people, being the one who dragged him literally kicking and screaming from his quarters to do maintenance work. Though he never knew Elsman before he came to Orb, he had heard of his reputation as a tough fighter with a carefree, devil-may-care attitude. He surely showed that side of his character to Shinn, and got the better of him. But Elsman was right in a way - he had a bargain to honor, and Shinn accepted the bargain without coercion from Terminal - it was his own free choice. He knew he needed their help, since they had the capability and resources he wanted to use.

Chief Murdoch, on the other hand, helped Shinn out immeasurably on the technical and mechanical side of the work. The barrel-chested chief mechanic knew his way around mobile suits, and had correctly analyzed the condition of the Phoenix for him. He was an invaluable source of information on the ins and outs of mobile suit mechanics, and from him Shinn learned a few new tricks along the way in improving the performance of the massive war machines. And he also was a friendly enough guy, always jolly around him, making him very infectious with his jovial manner, than Shinn couldn't find any reason for him to be angry at the chief - save, of course, that he was an _Archangel_ crewman.

The last person who hung around him, trying to help him feel comfortable, trying to strike up civil - if not friendly - conversation, trying to integrate Shinn socially with the rest of the _Archangel'_s crew, was someone Shinn really wanted to avoid, for a lot of reasons, but he knew he couldn't forever. Not that he really hated Athrun - unlike his friend Kira Yamato – only disappointed with him. It was for the reason that Shinn considered Athrun a failure to his great potential. He looked up to Athrun, but Shinn felt the Justice pilot had betrayed him and the _Minerva's_ crew after the time they served together in the last year. Subsequent events proved Shinn wrong, but prejudice can't be lost in a day.

Shinn never really understood Athrun's reason to search for him in Germany, to approach him and offer him a chance to work with the Terminal group, considering the fact that Shinn harbored a deep and mortal grudge against most of them. Shinn knew that the answer ultimately lay in Athrun, but he wasn't revealing anything to him - and Shinn didn't really care. All that Shinn cared for was that he needed to find Stellar, and his chances were better with Athrun's help. But now he had an unspoken bond to honor with Athrun's group, however uncomfortable it felt for both sides.

Athrun was now standing in front of the cockpit, looking inside from the top of the maintenance gantry crewmen used to climb to reach high places on the mobile suits. Shinn saw the blue-haired Coordinator watch him silently, content to just stand there, with his hands thrust into the pockets of his orange-colored maintenance jumpsuit. Shinn tried to just ignore him, but Athrun didn't seem to notice this and kept rooted in his place. Slightly irritated, Shinn stopped typing and called him over the cockpit MFD. "You need something, Zala?"

Athrun nodded. "I just wanted to go over with you your settings for the OS."

"What about them?" Shinn asked, left eyebrow raised.

Athrun stepped unto the cockpit blast hatch, kneeling there in front of Shinn. "I took a reading from the OS. You set the Wings of Light's power usage above normal parameters."

"What's your point?" Shinn asked defensively.

Apparently Athrun didn't notice his not-so-friendly response, or just ignored it. "Won't you use up a lot more power quickly? That'll cut into your operational range."

Shinn thought about answering Athrun with another sarcastic response, but he felt tired, and to raise his voice would have sapped him more. "The techs set the Phoenix up with another hyper capacitor, so I figured I could compensate the drain by increased power production from the reactor."

"That's true. But that setup has never been tested in actual combat, Shinn."

"You think the techs would install a double system if it wouldn't work?" Shinn replied. "I'll just have to try it."

Shinn noticed that Athrun didn't challenge what he said last. Instead, the Justice pilot carried on with his checklist. "What about the rail gun? Did you check the magnets' polarity?"

"_Iie_," Shinn answered. "I'll do it later. Don't worry, Zala. I'll have this machine ready for action within a day or two."

"Will _you_ pilot the Destiny Phoenix, Shinn?"

There it was - the question Shinn was trying hard to avoid answering. To take the responsibility of helping out in the maintenance of the Destiny Phoenix was one thing, but actually piloting it was another. It would mean that Shinn was accepting the shared responsibility of protecting the _Archangel_ and its crew, a responsibility he never really wanted to have_. Why should I protect these people, who had taken much from me and caused so much pain?_

And he was here now, inside the same ship he had fought against many times over the past year. Shinn was now a part of the crew, by _his own free will_. Whether he liked it or not, he did have a responsibility to its crew - and honor called for him to do his duty. But the fire of hatred welling inside was still burning strong, burning and infecting the deep wounds in his soul. Nothing could simply douse such a firestorm, but he knew that it had to start somewhere. And Shinn knew it had to start with himself. And here was Athrun, asking him to take responsibility of something that could cement a first step in the fight against his personal hatred.

_If only he had the courage to take the first step._

Shinn gazed at Athrun, willing himself to deliver through his eyes the answer he wanted to give, but he stubbornly held back. Athrun seemed to understand him, for he just nodded before he walked away, looking satisfied with the outcome of their short talk.

Shinn pressed a button, and the hatch of the Destiny Phoenix closed up in front of him, sealing Shinn within the darkness of the cold, silent cockpit, like the tomb that waits to envelope his dark soul. In the darkness, Shinn wondered what he did in the past that led his destiny to this day, at a place he never thought he would be. He thought of all the acts he made and the consequences accumulated by his actions.

He closed his eyes, and thought about those people his lives had touched and touched his in return, whether for the good or for the bad. He thought of his parents, his sister Mayu - was their death a sacrifice for Shinn to succeed in life? Or was it a curse that Shinn must carry until he goes to the place they were now, and only if he was worthy to join them again.

He thought of Rey, his best friend, and Gladys-_Kanchou_ and the Chairman - were they right to lead Shinn to this darker path? Were they right to use Shinn for the destiny of Mankind they sought for with blood and tears? Or was it that Shinn _himself_ wanted to be used by them - to feel that he mattered and belonged, however misguided the goals they wanted to achieve was.

He thought of Stellar, the one who gave his heart happiness in the same time had hurt it deeply. Was her death his fault? Would she have lived if he didn't return her to the arms of Neo and Phantom Pain - naively hoping that she will live in peace, but dying in the fires of the metal monster that drove her mad with fear?

And finally he thought of Lunamaria - the one person Shinn realized truly cared for him since the first time they met. She was always at his side, in good times and bad, always backing him up. Even when Shinn thought he killed Meyrin, her sister stayed with him, letting him to share her grief, opening her heart as a refuge for his troubled one. And yet in a fit of madness, he forced her away. He had hurt her, even though he had held back the physical blow that would have killed their shared love. Shinn felt crushed as he watched as Luna backed away, fear and sadness in her eyes at Shinn's terrible transformation.

So he left, wanting to end it all, but not having the courage to do so. And he had been running and hiding ever since - till that snowy day a few weeks ago, when Athrun Zala saw him plowing in the field of snow by the cold, icy lake. Athrun gave him a new chance at redemption - a chance to put back together his shattered pieces of his existence.

His last thoughts lingered on Lunamaria, hoping that she was fine, and that she was safe, before he drifted off to sleep, dreaming troubled memories, in tomb-like cold of the darkened cockpit of the Destiny Phoenix.

* * *

_**LHM-BB01 Minerva**_

_**ZAFT Sector Base**_

_**Gibraltar**_

**_December 31, CE 73_**

"Let me get this straight one last time, _Tai-I _Hawke," _Chujo_ Joachim Radul began, giving Luna a withering stare. "You saw _someone_ who looks very much like one Stellar Louisser - a biological CPU pilot, or 'Extended', a member of Phantom Pain, the strike team formed by LOGOS' late leader Djibril? And according to facts gathered after the Battle of Berlin, this Stellar was the pilot of GFAS-X1 Destroy that attacked Berlin, and this person was killed at the end of the battle." Radul looked Luna straight in the eye. "Are you're _positively_ sure it was her?"

"_Hai_," Lunamaria answered simply. She was bearing the brunt of _Chujo_ Radul's questioning, following her abrupt arrival to his office with Devereux-_Kanchou_. Luna was still troubled by last night's events. Her sudden encounter with that woman, who she recognized to look incredibly like the ace Extended pilot who was a bane to the _Minerva_ crew during the recent war, affected her so much, seeding her with a source for fear and anxiousness she couldn't escape from.

But she also knew - even though she would never admit to herself or anyone else - that the fact that that woman was the object of her former lover's affection before Shinn and Luna started a deeper relationship between them. Luna accepted the fact that Stellar will always be part of Shinn's life, but she always reckoned that with her passing in the war and the march of time, Shinn's wounds to heart would heal, and that Luna hoped the she herself will have a large impact in his self-healing.

But unfortunately for Luna it was never meant to be. Shinn was still held prisoner by the memory of the Extended woman, and he never escaped its bonds. His bondage became Luna's too, and she felt the pain and misery as watched him slowly tear himself apart, wracked by nightmares and the guilt over Stellar's death. Finally, Luna decided to take a stand, and confronted him. She wanted to know what she meant to Shinn, and if Shinn could accept her as much - if not more than – he had accepted into his heart the Extended woman. But in the end this pushed Shinn over his edge, and nearly ended with him physically striking Luna.

Luna was shocked and scared - she knew Shinn as one to never do such a thing, but she expected to see him come close to being physically violent with her. Afterwards, after realizing his mistake, Shinn left her, and she never saw him again. For a time Luna was devastated, were in not for family like Meyrin and friends like Abi, Youlan and Burt, and the renewed work with refitting the _Minerva_ and her subsequent assumption of command of the ship's mobile suit squad, she would not have started to mend her shattered life and broken heart. Luna took the separation as a chance to start anew, to begin life once more without the hurt and sorrow of the past.

But a few seconds from last night changed all that, and thrust Luna unwillingly back to the world of confusion and hurt. She tried to deny to herself that that _woman_ was back, but deep inside she knew that self-denial was futile.

She reported the incident to the _Kanchou_, since Hitomi was involved. Devereux received the information neutrally, not commenting on Luna's subsequent emotional breakdown. She allowed Luna her way in telling the story, and did not say anything until the magenta-haired ace was finished. The _Kanchou's_ only question was how Luna assessed what had happened. Luna told her, and the _Kanchou_ suggested that this was a matter better reported to the higher-ups.

So she went with Devereux-_Kanchou_ to headquarters, and waited for a good part of two hours for the early morning briefing to end so that they could meet _Chujo_ Radul. Luna relayed her story to the theater commander, who looked a lot more skeptical than how Devereux took it. The _Chujo_ asked an intelligence colonel to come and listen, so Luna had to repeat her tale once more. Luna eventually repeated herself two more times, as details were cleared and the loose ends of the story were tied together.

Luna was already exhausted; she had not had any sleep since getting back to the ship, and had been awake the entire night. And yet she endured all the questioning – it was almost like the time she was questioned when Meyrin got involved in Athrun's flight and defection from ZAFT. She was at the end of her patience, and was struggling to control her anger, and maintain her waking consciousness. "I'm positively sure it was her, sir."

Radul put his hands together and studied Luna intently. He swung his swivel seat to trade a look with his intelligence officer, and then faced the _Kanchou_. "Do you support this statement from your officer, Devereux-_Kanchou_?"

Devereux nodded. "I see no reason why I should not believe _Tai-I_ Hawke's statement, _Chujo_. She has my full confidence and I trust her judgment completely."

"Is it based on the fact that she and the _Minerva_ has fought this Stellar more than once before in the second war?"

"_Hai_," Devereux answered. "That was one of the facts I based upon my analysis of this situation."

"Did you also base your analysis upon the _personal_ reasons that _Tai-I_ Hawke may have concerning that woman?"

Devereux frowned. "I see no reason why that should matter in this case." Luna matched the _Kanchou's_ grim face.

"Let me rephrase my statement." The _Chujo_ straightened up. "Don't you think that _Tai-I_ Hawke's judgment may be clouded by any personal animosity that may have come between the _Tai-I _and the Extended, due primarily to the fact that they _both_ had relations with the same person?"

Luna stiffened. She was expecting this, but the effect was still disturbing. "With all due respect _Chujo_, but that's my personal business and I don't think my feelings clouded my judgment."

"Witnesses say otherwise, _Tai-I_."

_What does he mean by that?_ "_Chujo_ I don't-," Then the realization hit her. _The military police! They must have seen me break down last night! Dammit!_ Luna looked away for a moment, pondering what she should say. "_Chujo,_ I understand what you are saying, but I am only reporting this due to the urgency of the situation."

Radul looked down at his desk. "How _urgent_ is it?"

Luna hesitated. She knew what she was going to say would not be taken with face value, what with the thinness of the information she had offered and her tainted analysis. "I believe there is a threat to the base, and that woman is involved. I believe she and her companion maybe planning an attack."

Radul eyes locked unto hers. He stared deep into her, and Luna had a difficult time to hold his gaze. She tried to keep still, knowing that any slight movements from her could reveal her doubts and weakness.

The _Chujo_ broke the gaze first, but only because he was satisfied from what he saw from Luna. "How can you be sure about that, Hawke?"

Luna looked at her feet. "To be honest, _Chujo_, I am not." She raised her eyes again. "But I have a bad feeling about this nonetheless."

"So you're basing all what you reported on a _bad feeling_?" the intelligence officer spoke up for the first time.

"_Hai_."

Once more, the intelligence exchanged a look with the _Chujo_, but this time the intelligence officer nodded. "Do you have anything else to add, _Tai-I_ Hawke?"

"_Iie_," Luna replied. "That's all I know."

Radul rubbed his eyes, and pushed his chair away from his table. He twisted to his left, looking out of his office window, staring at the dark clouds forming from the sea. Luna watched the clouds too, an obvious sign that a storm was brewing, bringing darkness and rain to the ZAFT colony. It mirrored the feelings of a coming storm inside her, which gave hear the feeling of fear and anxiety that was sapping at whatever strength she had left.

"Very well," Radul started, and he faced Luna and others again. "I understand the urgency of your report, _Tai-I_, even though I and the colonel here still see it as _very_ vague. But I also understand your concern for the safety of every man and woman in this base, and I commend you on that. And we will address your concern - for the sake of security at least."

"Normally I would have intelligence look deeper on a matter like this and ask for their thorough evaluation before acting. But times have changed and things can be unpredictable. If we act on this, there are many variables that work against us. Like you said yourself, you are not sure this woman maybe a threat, but you have a bad feeling about this nevertheless. We are not sure when they will strike - if they ever intended too - or what their target is. Is it their objective to attack the base and damage as much of its facilities as they can, like the attack on Orb? Or are targeting specific personnel, like Scandinavia. Or do they have something they want that's here."

"Personally I don't see a simple alpha strike to be their objective. An alpha strike would be conducted with the goal of maximizing damage to the enemy's war capability. But why hit us now? We have only a sixth of the total forces under this command now in the base; only a fraction of what is was from the middle of the last war. Save for the _Minerva_, we don't have any significant fleet assets, most of our task forces are on patrol, and the guard fleet is in port for repairs."

"As for our mobile suit forces, all we have intact are a squadron of BABIs, a half-squad of ZAKUs, half a squad of older ceremonial GINNs, and _Minerva's_ complement. And most of these forces are down for maintenance. And most of our personnel are off-base for the holiday. I know this makes for a very tempting target, but I don't see any sense for it."

"As for targeting specific personnel, who could be their target that's worth the effort? There's no one of importance to ZAFT or PLANT remaining here. With the force reductions all non-essential staff and personnel are gone. Unless it could be a personal vendetta that this woman might have against you, _Tai-I_ Hawke, but I don't see that as important - with all due respect to you, of course."

"I understand," Luna replied.

"The colonel and I are more agreeable that there might be a threat against something in this base, but we aren't sure what that is. We don't know of any important item that maybe held in this base, whether a weapon or what else. But we see this to be the most promising of the ideas you have presented - and also the most alarming."

"What else do you know, _Chujo_?" Devereux-Kanchou asked.

"Essentially nothing. We are still correlating everything we know, and I had my staff go through the inventory of what could be of value to any enemy from this base."

"So what are we going to do?"

Radul nodded to the intelligence officer, who brought up a classified file and showed it on the desktop monitor. "I have a plan for situations like this - Case Zephyr - using whatever assets with have left here at the base." Radul activated his holoscreen, which depicted a digital representation of the ZAFT base. "I will integrate the _Minerva_ into Zephyr, and your crew will play an important role in Zephyr's execution, Devereux, as you will see. I just hope whatever we have will be enough to stop whatever will happen to us."

* * *

_**Forward Deployment Base**_

_**USSA Army**_

_**Twelve Miles East of Manaus**_

_**Amazonas Sector**_

_**Brazil State**_

**_United States of South America_**

_**December 30, CE 74**_

It was extremely cold that morning, as a thick fog had fallen down below the canopy of the rainforest. The cold mist was covering the entire camp, and soldiers were trying to keep warm in all ways they could, huddling underneath thick coats and jackets, rubbing their gloved hands to the hot mugs of coffee they drank to heat their stomachs, or warming them over the remains of last night's bonfire. Condensation had formed on their mobile suit and vehicles, and their field quarters were surrounded by wet soil. The men were grateful for the lull in the recent fighting along their front, with soldiers from both sides resting and reveling with the holiday season.

Scott was thoroughly enjoying the lull, sipping on hot cocoa as he sprawled lazily on his folding bed. He was watching with the rest of the team and several other soldiers a broadcast of a local soccer game on the monitor. It was an exciting game, and the men were rowdily cheering for the local team, Manaus FC, in their New Year's Eve encounter with the team from Patagonia. Although most of the regular players of both teams were gone, having joined up with their war effort against the Atlantic Federation invaders, the replacements were doing pretty well on their own. At the moment, the score was tied at two goals apiece, and with most of the second half to go.

There was a loud rumbling sound outside the tent. Several people were screaming, and at first Scott thought that the base was under attack. But careful listening to the shouting revealed them to be more of anger for spilled drinks or sudden wakening from sleep. Some shouted curses at someone for almost running over them, and Scott figured that the rumbling was coming from cargo trucks bringing them new equipment and supplies. From the bored reactions of his companions, the noise was not a threat, so Scott continued watching the game.

The flaps of the entrance to the large tent holding the camp's entertainment center opened, and a shivering William came in quickly, looking excited about something. The Shousa noticed him too, and stood to ask him what that ruckus was all about.

William jerked his finger out of the tent. "The Rat's back. He's got some stuff on his flatbeds. And he's brought a guest with him." A sly grin began to grow on William's face. "It's a girl – a cute one in fact."

Scott glanced over to Michael, who shaking his head in impatience with William. The two stood up and followed William out of the tent, but Scot stopped at the entrance to call out to their last team member. "You coming, Gunny?"

"Nah," Gunny replied. "It's too cold outside for me. Just gonna watch the game. You kids have fun." Gunny sent him off with a wave of his hand.

Scott stepped out into the outside of the tent. The sun was still blurred by the low clouds, but Scott could now feel small rays of heat from the solar disc bring warmth to the cold morning. He saw the long flat bed parked just in front the team's mobile suits, all covered under camouflage nets, to help hide them from aerial and satellite detection. A very large item rested on the top of the flat bed, covered by a equally large canvass. Scott studied the contours of the item, and peeked under the canvass to get a perspective on it. It was metallic and green, and its size was gigantic indeed.

Rat's personal jeep skidded to a stop in front of the three, spraying mud to William's feet, which earned the crusty foul-mouthed weapons dealer some curses from the orange haired pilot. The Rat just ignored him, as walked over to the other side of the jeep, and gentlemanly led a orange-haired woman out of the vehicle. She wore dark shades that hid her eyes, and Scott couldn't see a glimpse of her eye's color. She looked only around sixteen, with her smooth pale white skin. She was petite, about five feet three, and wore a plain gray shirt under her blue cameraman's vest, and blue jeans and brown boots. She carried a large camera bag on her left shoulder, to complement the three digital cameras she had around her neck. Her right hand held a small duffel bag, which Scott noticed was not packed tight. With that detail Scott pegged the woman to be an experienced war photographer, or at least had military training and experience to carry only the essentials for a trip to the frontline. The woman walked behind Rat, who led her to face the three pilots.

"Howdy, boss-man," the Rat said to Michael in greeting. "Awfully cold out here, eh?"

Michael nodded. "What do you have for us, my friend?"

The Rat gestured to the woman. "First, I'd like you to meet Ms. Miriallia Haww. Ms. Haww is a freelance photographer, and she's come to take pretty pictures of your boys. Ms. Haww, _Shousa_ Ward, of the Twenty-First Platoon."

"How do you do Ms. Haww," said Michael as he offered the woman his hand. The woman shook it firmly, from the looks of her grip, and gave the _Shousa_ as small grin.

"Glad to meet you, _Shousa_ Ward. I appreciate allowing me to come here."

Michael's eyebrows rose up. "I don't seem to remember getting any requests, Ms. Haww."

"Oh, I see." Haww fumbled for something on her camera bag, and took out a folded piece of paper. She handed over the piece to Michael, who began to read its content. "_Taisa_ Reyes down at Fourth Regimental Command gave me permission, and allowed me to come to your camp. He said he'll relay to you the notice for my arrival."

Michael nodded grimly. "Apparently he hasn't." He gave the paper back to Haww. "I haven't received any notices, but I surely can't refuse a direct order from Command. But this is a dangerous place to be in, Ms. Haww. We are in the frontlines, and this specific sector is the favorite place for the EA to party in."

"Don't worry, _Shousa_. I'm game for that."

"Okay then," Michael said. "I'd like you to meet my pilots. This is William Bartley," Michael indicated to Will, who was giving Haww the most roguish grin he had. "And this is Scott Hinomura, ace pilot and tech wizard."

Haww ignored William's attempts to get her attention and faced Scott. "How do you do, Mr. Hinomura?" Haww offered him her hand, which Scott took gently.

"Please call me Scott, Ms. Haww. Mr. Hinomura is my father." Scott grinned.

Haww grinned back. "Then please call me Miriallia then, Scott." She took off her shade, revealing the deep green eyes beneath it.

"Okay, Miriallia." The hand felt soft in his, Scott thought. It was nice to feet the softness and tenderness of a woman's skin touch his - specially a nice looking woman as Miriallia was. _William was right - she's cute_.

The Rat cleared his throat. "Okay then. Now that we all know each other, let me get down to the good stuff," he said happily, as he rubbed both palms of his hands. "Scotty my boy, I'm your fairy godfather and I've granted your wish. See that large thing covered with the canvass? That's your new lifter."

Scott blinked, as he let go of Miriallia's hand. "You got the GUUL I asked you?" The Rat nodded. "Wow."

"Yeah, it's all there," the Rat said proudly. "But like I said, one of the engines is busted, but I did find some spare parts for it though - not all of them, but enough to get you starting to work on it. Plus I got luck with one full reload of missiles." Rat looked at Michael. "I got the rifles with me too, plus some extra stuff. That would cost extra, boss-man. I hope you won't forget to tell that to the one's holding the money."

Michael was about to say something, but his reply was drown by the loud gasp of fright from the entertainment tent. "What the-?" They heard Gunny call out from inside the entertainment tent, fear obvious from his voice. "_Shousa_, I think you should take a look at this."

Scott looked at his commander, and Michael gestured for the group to follow him, and they were shocked at scene that they saw from the television screen.

* * *

_**Cali International Convention Center**_

_**Cali**_

_**Columbia**_

_**Occupied South America**_

_**December 30, CE 73**_

President Gregorio Vasquez, figurehead leader of the occupied territories of the South America, emerged from a side door, the colonel and his bodyguards, dressed in black military dress uniforms following behind him, his right arm outstretched to greet the assembled party members that packed the convention hall. Even with the strong rains from the thunderstorms over the city did not deter the party faithful to come to this meeting at the President's call, their reasons for attending differed from showing loyalty in return for favors of power, to outright fear of the person standing in front of them for his violent ways. The party members hollered their adoration for this puppet leader, chosen the overlords of the Atlantic Alliance to be the figurehead ruler of the occupied lands in their name. The bodyguards took to their assigned positions around the stage, looking outward for mortal threats, not realizing that they should look within. The colonel positioned himself somewhere behind Vasquez, allowing him to begin his speech to the audience before he acted on his holy mission.

Vasquez was a brutal man, a lover of various perversions and the committer of sins to numerous to count that he was destined for a special room in Hell should he fall into that fiery existence. From afar he looked very powerful and invincible, but that façade faded away up close, Vasquez was a prisoner of his sins, ever surrounded by guards he wanted to trust but he could never be sure of, because his guard had seen and knew everything he had done against the eyes of God.

The colonel was the foremost amongst them, the ever-present witness to Vasquez's megalomania. It was the colonel's duty to oversee the puppet's protection, to defend him from physical threats and bodily harm. He knew that Vasquez trusted him the most, and he was the only one the puppet allowed to be closest to his side. That misplaced trust would be his folly, for the colonel was the first among many who had the mission to see Vasquez die.

The colonel had been preparing for this one moment that would end this foul demon, who now held the reigns to their terrorized nation. He had readied himself in the past, planning to target the predecessors of Vasquez who instilled the ambition and greed for power and violence into the puppet's black heart, but he didn't find a way to get close. Until he met the man who opened the door to power for him, and chosen him for this task for destiny.

The bald man, whom he only knew as Carlus, had whispered the colonel's name into the right ears of those in power, and these shadows invited him to take command of the Presidential Guards. He accepted the post, hoping to take the first chance to eliminate those who have surrendered and offered their lands and their people like prostitutes and slaves, to the invaders and racists of the Atlantic Federation, but Carlus stopped him, demanding that he would not act without his word, or face betrayal to the Federation masters.

The colonel tried to protest, but soon he saw the reasons why the bald man had blocked his preemptive move. He realized that there was a chance that things maybe better should the war end, that the Federation would leave South America once peace had reigned once more. But with this naïve outlook, he did not see the truth. After the end of the war, with the armistice with the Coordinators in the PLANTs, the Federation had turned its full attention to the South Americans, who had started an armed revolt for freedom against the racist masters. The colonel's homeland was invaded, but in stroke of faith he was personally chosen by Vasquez, who the colonel had worked alongside with during the last few years as a major player, to lead his personal protective detail.

Once more he wanted to strike down this madman, and once more Carlus held him back. The colonel was wary of the mysterious bald man, whom the colonel had discovered was an agent for the LOGOS during the start of the second war, but fell out of favor as the conflict progressed. It was suspicious therefore that Carlus should oppose the colonel's plan, since Carlus was one to profit with the demise of the LOGOS-backed puppet. But the bald man had stood firm; saying only that the colonel should bide his time.

His time had come, the bald man's short call to command him the harbinger of this moment in his destiny. The colonel accepted it calmly, having readied himself for the fate that awaits him, a fate from which he could not run away.

So, with a peace in his heart with the knowledge that he would do his part in saving his homeland, and his soul was surely to be accepted to whatever place courageous men that stood up and gave their lives for their ideals would go, the colonel executed his final mission.

Covered by the roar of the assembled politicos, the colonel took three steps forward, standing two meters behind Vasquez. He drew his semi-automatic pistol from his holster, brought it up straight with his right hand, and fired a single nine millimeter round into the back of Vasquez head. The people watching from the seats of the hall gasped in shock as they saw the bullet erupt from the dictator's right eye. This became one of those moments of history, when time seemed to stop for a instant that felt like eternity, and the shouts of adorations turned to a remembered, deafening silence.

As Vasquez fell dead into a pool made of his own blood, the colonel shouted his last battle cry. "Death to the invaders! Long live the USSA!" He didn't fire another shot; he was a practiced marksman who knew that his first shot had ended the demon's plagued life with its penetration through the brain and exit out of the head. He didn't turn to face the other guards, who were now starting to react from the shock and confusion and training their weapons on the colonel. There was no point in killing these men, even in self-defense, for they were just doing their duty, never tainted by his lone plot. Others would see to them soon enough, falsely accusing them of collusion in a conspiracy with their commander.

Again the colonel felt the peace inside him, even as the first of numerous bullets entered into his back, tearing into his internal body parts, starting the process of his bodily mortality, and spiritual immortality. His body jerked too and fro as more bullets penetrated him and riddled him, but he took no action to block them. As he felt the last of his life ebb away, he smiled to himself, knowing that his ill-fated existence was not in vain.

* * *

_**Forward Deployment Base**_

_**USSA Army**_

_**Twelve Miles East of Manaus**_

_**Amazonas Sector**_

_**Brazil State**_

**_United States of South America_**

_**December 30, CE 74**_

"Holy shit," William cursed, but he couldn't finish his words in face of what sight he was seeing on the monitor. Bloody murder was committed live, and the eyes of millions had beheld it in living color. William looked questioningly at those watching with him, but all of them shared his look of disbelief. All except for the _Shousa_, who had the same grim look that he shared with the photographer, as if they had seen this many times before and were not surprised to see it again. "What the hell is going on?" William blurted out, echoing Gunny sentiments when he first saw the same scene.

"They just killed President Vasquez," the photographer said neutrally.

Scott's eyes narrowed in anger. "But can't you see what they've done? Don't you realize what that man said, Miriallia? He just implicated the USSA in his act! Don't you understand what this means?"

"I know," Miriallia answered. "They just started what we all fear."

Michael finished her sentence, in a voice the echoed the darkness that covered the sky above. "The beginning of the end for us all."

* * *

_**Physics Department Building**_

_**University of Gibraltar**_

**_Gibraltar City _**

**_Gibraltar_**

_**December 31, CE 74**_

Alejandro Morales lived a decent life for a simple man like him. He worked for a good part of his fifty-three years as a soldier, first in the Eurasian Federation Army and a short service with United Nations Peacekeeper Corps. He was a dedicated professional in the ranks of the Army, a skinny, impoverished eighteen year old recruit from the slums of Toledo when he started his career to escape ending up involved in gangs and syndicates that preyed on youngsters like him. He was a veteran of several minor campaigns, mostly low intensity conflict against insurgents and guerrillas who opposed the current governments of his day. He progressed gradually up the ladder in the foot infantry, and retired after thirty-two years of service as a sergeant major, complete with a decent pension to support him and his family. He would had have happily settled into the quiet of retirement, as was his wish, with security, until the Bloody Valentine Wars turned the whole world around and affected his life.

Morales had watch on television the terrorist attack that took the lives of the United Nations representatives in Copernicus that led to tensions between Earth and the PLANTs. Morales was torn between re-enlisting in the Army and remaining a civilian with his family; he wanted to serve and participate as a loyal citizen of Spain and the Eurasian Federation, but he did not agree with the rising anti-Coordinator sentiments that was gradually growing among the Naturals that dominated on Earth. Morales teetered between what choice to make for months, until he saw the flash of the nuclear explosion that killed two hundred thousand innocent Coordinator civilians during the breaking news cast of the Bloody Valentine Incident of Junius Seven.

The callousness of the attack, praised by some leaders of the Earth Alliance, as the loose federation of the major nations of pro-Natural Earth called themselves, cemented Morales' choice not to fight anymore. Instead he sought for more decent work, but couldn't find any with the collapse of economies and the outbreak of chaos with the ZAFT attack on Earth and the denial of nuclear power by the rain of neutron jammers during Operation Uroboros. Morales took his family and fled their home in Barcelona, seeking refuge in the ZAFT controlled territory of Gibraltar. He settled there, and, with the help of a friend who worked in the University of Gibraltar, found work in the University's security department as a full time security guard, in charge of protecting and keeping the peace for the campus and its faculty, students and workers.

And now Morales was in his third year in the job, quietly living a simple life as the world was embroiled in two successive wars. Once in a while he wondered what if he joined up; would he have survived, maimed or killed in battle? But the old soldier knew that his body wouldn't have taken well to the stresses of combat anymore, and Morales quietly accepted his boring yet safe life as a guard with no other regrets.

And that was what Morales was thinking this New Year's Eve, as he sat on the front desk in the lobby of the Physics Department Building. He had the night shift, and was sharing the work Cortez, a younger co-worker in security, and Sergeant Yarth and Corporal Bollings of ZAFT's 3rd Military Police Battalion, who had a platoon assigned to the University, particularly this building, for reasons Morales wasn't aware of. His long years in the military made him understand the meaning of the secrecy – sensitive things important to ZAFT were kept here, thus the need for extra protection. The ZAFT soldiers were friendly enough, and they were non-invasive of the security department's work. They socialized well with the university staff, and generally well liked by all. Morales liked to work with them, they were good company and competent enough for him trust them with his life should trouble comes up. He never knew the trouble that he would face that night would signal the end of his life in this world.

The phone on the front desk rang, and Morales watched as Yarth picked it up and answered it. He spoke a few words, and silently nodded for half a minute before he put the phone down once. "That was the main gate of the campus," Yarth said, as he tightened the straps that held his mottled gray Kevlar helmet securely over his head. "We've got some maintenance people coming in on their van. But the guard there said that these three were new faces, so we better check them out." Yarth indicated to his partner to go out and meet the van, and Morales did the same with Cortez. The old veteran returned to what he was watching on the TV, a live feed of the New Year's celebration now going on near the ports of the city.

Peripherally Morales saw the lights of the maintenance van, as it reflected at the glass doors of the building. The van moved into the driveway and parked at the steps to the entrance, and two persons in drab gray worksuits and matching caps climbed out. They opened the back of the van and rolled out their trolley carrying their cleaning equipment. Cortez unlocked the front door and let the two in, and they headed towards Morales and the front desk. The two stopped in front of Morales, and gave their work papers.

Morales looked them over between reading the document, one was a tall man with gray hair tied in a ponytail; the other was a short girl with blonde hair. He couldn't see much of the facial features of the two because the caps were blocking them. Morales stood up and looked the man in the eye, which was of the color of deep purple. There was something about the man they he didn't like. He had the look of determination Morales hasn't seen since his service days. "Can I see some ID's?"

The man drew out another set of papers from his clipboard. "We're just new to the company, my friend, so our ID cards aren't with us yet, but this should clear things up." The man slid the paper over.

"I'm sorry, but I can't let you in without proper identifications," Morales answered, as he slid the paper back without looking at them. "What happened to Dominguez and his partner, what's his name? Why aren't they doing tonight's job?"

"Oh, them." The man said. "The boss took them to a long vacation. They were doing a good job so he rewarded them."

"I don't understand." Morales felt very uncomfortable with the man now. He felt something very wrong from him. "Let me call your office first to check." Morales started to pick up the phone, but the man's hand grabbed his and stopped him.

"Don't worry, Morales. Everything has been taken cared off. Yarth's there has made the necessary arrangements."

"What do you mean-" Morales started to say, as he turned to face the ZAFT sergeant. But rather than meeting his eyes directly, Morales found himself facing the end of the barrel of pistol's flash suppressor. And before he could act, Morales saw red and then nothing, as a suppressed nine- millimeter round entered his forehead, right between the eyes and above the nose, almost instantaneously when Yarth pulled the trigger and sealed his faith. Morales' life ended in an instant, without him ever knowing why he had to die like that, a helpless individual without the chance to fight back, or understand his place in the tragic drama that was about to start.

* * *

As soon as the guard turned to the ZAFT soldier, Solar began to move. By the time the flash of the point blank suppressed shot killed the guard she had her weapon out from the trolley and was drawing a bead on the other guard. The younger one was frozen in shock at what happened to his companion, and was an easy target for Solar. The MP55SD went up, and three rounds were released as Solar pulled hard on the trigger. It took nanoseconds for the rounds to travel the fifteen feet distance, and exploded the head of the guard into a bloody mass of bone and tissue. The headless guard dropped to the floor lifeless and limp.

The remaining ZAFT soldier tried to react, also with a face of wonder and surprise. He tried to bring up his Azimov assault rifle to shoot at Solar, but suddenly there was a cracking of glass, as the glass door behind him exploded. The corporal's body jerked forward and fell head first to the floor, blood gushing out of a large wound dead center on his back. Solar looked out behind the shattered doorway and unto the van's front compartment, where Naki was shouldering a sniper rifle, its barrel smoking and its user smiling with satisfaction with his one-shot, one-kill attack.

Solar turned to Adam, who was calmly drawing his own submachine gun plus a backpack and a loop of rope from the trolley. He had not moved from his spot since the short firefight started, and had not said a word. He shouldered the weapon and began to head for the stairway, gesturing for Solar and Yarth to follow. Solar grabbed a grenade fanny pack from the trolley, and tossed it to Yarth. The Coordinator took the lead, his suppressed pistol put away in favor of his own Asimov. He pointed up the stairs and sped cautiously ahead. "Third floor, last room on the west wing. Four guards." They could hear footsteps from above, and the voices of some of the guards hustling down to intercept them

Adam nodded, and Yarth took a flash-bang canister from the fanny pack and pulled out its pin. Yarth stepped up to the first corner of the stairs, and threw the flash-bang up to the second floor landing. Solar stuck to the wall and covered her ears, as the flash-bang blew up in a loud ringing sound a split second later. Solar followed as Yarth and Adam dashed upwards to take down the defenders.

One ZAFT guard was already down, stunned and unconscious, and was finished by a short burst from Yarth's rifle. Another one struggled to get up from where he fell, but Adam cut him down with a three bullets to the head. The last two guards were farther up in the third floor, distant enough to survive the assault of the flash-bang, to open fire down towards the attackers.

The team took cover along the stairway halfway between the second and third floors as the ZAFT counter-fire rained bullets around them. "Cover me!" Adam shouted at Solar, who ducked out of her corner to riddle the defenders with her own hail of rounds, which forced the ZAFT soldiers to momentarily seek cover. Adam took the chance, running halfway the stairs and jumping strong and high up from his last step.

Adam sailed past the covering defenders, and twisted his body in the air to fire at them. His sudden attack took out the nearest defender, who bumped into the second as he fell dead. The second one lost his balance and was forced to lift his rifle up into the air. Adam landed on the floor tumbling, coming up on one knee facing the last soldier. The soldier tried to desperately to bring down his weapon, but Adam riddled him with withering fire. Many bullets ripped through the soldier, who was jerking all over, as he uncontrollably pulled on his own trigger, punching holes into the ceiling of the third floor.

Adam gave a hand signal to Solar and Yarth, and the two dashed up to the third floor, while their leader covered in his overwatch position. Solar kept on going until she reached the end of the corridor and faced the aluminum and glass door into the Golov Strategic Studies Center offices. She pulled out another flash-bang, pulled the pin and rolled the grenade towards the door, which touched it as second later. She pushed away on her feet and knelt on the ground, covering herself once more in anticipation for the grenade's explosive force. The grenade blew up with a loud bang, and the soft aluminum was torn apart as the door collapsed in a rain of glass and metal.

Solar felt Adam rush past her as the controlled effect of the flash-bang was wearing off. She covered his and Yarth's entry then listened as the rattling of Yarth's rifle signaled the end of another person futilely defending the room. Another hand signal from Adam and she started off, rushing into the attacked office.

The room was a mess. Tables and chairs were overturned and office items were scattered all over, bullet holes riddled the wall to the west side, and an unknown body in a white lab coat, stain red with blood lay beneath it, a testament to the violence of the flash-bang explosion and rifle fire could do to helpless, defenseless civilians. Yarth was fumbling for something from the dead man's coat, and Solar saw the reflection of light twinkling from a set of keys that Yarth took from him.

Yarth pointed to a doorway to her left, and Adam nodded for Solar to head there. Yarth kicked the door open, dashed into the room, and then he shouted out "Clear!" as he finished his quick inspection of the adjacent office. Solar walked right in and headed for the large office table with a black laptop that dominated the private room, the office of the chief officer of this secret ZAFT think tank.

Gilbert Dullindal established this small office for strategic research of valuable technologies that may be used for war, and other practical applications for the militia. Dullindal choose the University of Gibraltar as the location, being within close proximity of the ZAFT Sector Base for security and anonymity and easy access to academicians who were contracted to work or cooperate with the study group. It was also a major contributor to Dullindal's Destiny Plan, as possessed a treasure trove of classified information that Dullindal used for the preparation and implementation of his ill-conceived escort plan for a war-weary human race.

Though the office was known among the ZAFT officer community, clearance for the knowledge it held was strictly limited, given only to officers who were trustworthy enough and reliable to be shared with. Apparently someone who knew about some of the contents was cooperative enough to share this information with Dullindal's enemies, and now Adam and his group wanted the information here, to further help their twisted crusade.

Solar sat of the plush swivel chair and began to work with the laptop. Using the passwords that they acquired from the chief of this office, she began to search the files they wanted. They picked up the chief the morning before, as he was about to leave for the Spanish mainland to celebrate the holidays. The chief was cooperative enough to tell them all they needed, after the way Naki took out his left eye with a paring knife. The chief was sufficiently motivated to help them out after which he was rewarded by having his torture ended with his throat slit across the neck.

It took a minute of fast typing and clicking for Solar to locate the necessary files, while Adam and their ally were preparing for their egress, lowering something down window facing he back of the building. They knew that hostiles were now converging on them, the open phone held by the dead academician gave witness to a last minute call for help. Solar could now hear sirens in the distance, as the remaining security forces in the campus were closing in on this building.

"Have you found it yet, Solar?" Adam asked as he watched out of the window of the room. Solar ignored him for the moment, as she found the specific folders she needed to copy. She slid a digital disk into a drive, and started to copy down the folders. She had just finished copying as she heard gunfire erupt once more, as Naki was now engaging the security forces, and Yarth was providing covering fire from an open window.

Solar pulled the disk and dashed out of the room. Adam followed her, who gave him the disk to carry. Yarth tossed another flash-bang into the private office, exploding on top of the table and destroying the laptop. Adam indicated to Solar the window, and she immediately went there. She took out a pair of climbing gloves, grabbed hold of the rope that dangled down to the ground, and climbed out of the large window. She twisted out to face the wall of the building, and gripping tightly on rope, she rappelled down to the ground, stepping off and pushing off the face of the building to guide herself safely down.

She landed on the ground running, with submachine gun up to search for hostile that might have approached her. She looked up and saw Adam rappel down as well, with Yarth looking out from the window waiting for his turn. Before Adam could touch the ground Yarth began his descent, and came down three seconds later. The three dashed to direction of the firefight, and saw Naki abandon the van as the security forces overwhelmed it. The policemen and soldier were all hidden behind their vehicles, and were pouring fire to Naki's position. It looked like that Naki would be defeated, but Solar knew that Adam still had one ace in his hole.

"Two, this is One," Adam spoke to a communicator. "We are all out side. Engage."

At first Solar saw nothing, her eyes drifting to sky above the positions of the security forces, the darkness framed by sky bursts from fireworks from the bay, but then she saw it, the shimmering effects of the small stars twinkling into existence, taking a dark humanoid form of gigantic size. Soon the form became more structure, as the mirrage colloid system was shut down, and Leva's Wraith came into complete existence.

The Wraith swooped down from where it was stealthily hovering above the campus. It began its dive, accelerating as it swooped down on the surprised security forces, who were diving for cover against the unexpected attack by the black mobile suit. The Wraith landed hard in front of Naki' battered van, and twisted to face the numerous but outgunned defenders.

The head of the Wraith disappeared in a double flash of light as the twin Iglestellung cannon whined to life, raining a storm of seventy-six millimeter high-explosive ammunition on the enemy. The effect was devastating; the large cannon rounds tore the thin-skinned police cars, and ZAFT vehicles into shreds, as well as the fragile tissue from the immolated bodies of the dead defenders.

Leva's voice came on the Wraith's external loudspeaker. "All clear, One. Some stragglers pulled back, but I see police lights from the distance. I think we should better go out of here soon."

"Roger, Two. Standby for egress," Adam responded via his communicator. "Did you find it?" He said to Yarth. Naki was walking towards them, sniper rifle slung behind him, submachine gun in hand, and stopped beside Solar.

The ZAFT soldier nodded. "I got it from him. His SUV's parked over that side." Yarth led them to the side parking spaces of the building, and they stopped beside a white sport utility vehicle that was parked in a reserved slot. Yarth deactivated its alarm system and was about to get in on the driver's side, when Adam stopped him. "I'll drive. You don't know where we're going."

Yarth gave him the keys and stepped away from the door. Adam got in and started the engines, revving it up for their escape. "Thank you, Yarth. You've done well. But I'm sorry I have to tie up loose ends." Adam nodded at Naki, who suddenly pointed his SMG at the Yarth and dropped him with two suppressed rounds to the cranium that cracked his skull open, sending blood, bone and brains spattering across the parking lot's concrete floor.

* * *

_**Headquarters**_

_**ZAFT Sector Base**_

_**Gibraltar City**_

_**Gibraltar**_

_**December 31, CE 74**_

"_Chujo_?" It was his intelligence officer. "We have received reports from civilian police. There's something going on down near the University. I think this is it."

"Put all forces to Condition Red!" Radul commanded. "Prepare for anything that might happen. Contact the _Minerva_ - tell them to execute Plan Zephyr immediately!"

* * *

_**LHM-BB01 Minerva**_

_**In Harbor**_

_**ZAFT Sector Base**_

**_Gibraltar City_**

_**Gibraltar**_

**_December 31, CE 74_**

"_Kanchou_, the go code for Zephyr has just come in from Sector HQ," Abi reported in.

Devereux nodded to Arthur Trine, who gave voice to the pre-arranged command. "Execute Zephyr. Launch the mobile suits."

* * *

"_Tai-I_ Hawke, you have clearance for launch."

"Roger that, control," Luna replied, as the YFX-M56 Core Splendor's cockpit dropped down and sealed her inside the fighter. Luna fired up the engines, booted up the G.U.N.D.A.M. operating system, and made last minute checks on the control surfaces as she secured herself on the pilot's seat with the safety belts. She increased power on the engines, as the main hatch at the end of the launch tunnel opened up in front of her. Luna lowered her red helmet's visor, and settled in for the catapult launch. "Lunamaria Hawke, Core Splendor. Launching!"

Luna was slammed deep into her seat as the catapult was released, pulling the small fighter jet forward, increasing speed as it was slingshot out of the cockpit and into the air in two seconds. After clearing the deck, Luna pulled back on the stick, and the Core Splendor climbed into the illuminated night sky. She veered the fighter away into the dark ocean to avoid getting in contact with the fireworks still exploding over Gibraltar. The other three remote flyers that made up the different components of the Impulse launched seconds after her, and were now aligning themselves with the little fighter, getting ready for docking.

The first to undergo transformation was the Core Splendor, with the release of the wing-mounted missile pods as the variable wings folded inwards. Luna guided the fighter through its transformation, assisted by the fly-by-wire computer built unto the G.U.N.D.A.M. OS. The nose of the fighter twisted down, with the pilot's seat rotating on its axis. The nose folded cleanly to the main fuselage of the small craft, securing the fighter into a compact shape.

Two aligning lasers shot out from the leg flyer, connecting with sensors on the Core Splendor, guiding both components for interlock. Securing seals activated as the Core Splendor attached itself to the second flyer, and the legs folded out into its standard position. Luna began inputting commands to calibrate the gyroscopes, allowing the legs to balance the mobile suit when it lands.

The chest flyer moved to the front of the combined elements of Impulse, maneuvering slowly to envelope the section containing the docked Core Splendor. It guided itself using more laser beacons, as it locked itself securely unto the leg section. The two arms spread outwards holding shield and beam rifle into its standard stance.

The last component to dock was the Silhouette Pack, which gave the Impulse its primary weapons according to the type of augmentation system used. For this mission Luna choose the Blast Impulse Silhouette Pack, a modular configuration the provided the Impulse long-ranged fighting capabilities with its twin Kerberos high-energy beam cannons, missile launchers and dual Deluge hyper-velocity rail guns. Luna decided on this system - even though she was worried that its heavy weapons would cause great damage to the facilities in and around Gibraltar - since the missile pods' use was essential against the raiders, using a special weapons package she equipped for against the raider threat.

With all components of the mobile suit joined into one, the Impulse stretched out as power surged into its systems from the hyper-deuterion compact battery. The Impulse's eyes flashed gold, and the anti-beam shield extended into its battle-ready mode. Luna pressed down on the thruster pedals to soften the Impulse landing, as it settled on the open ground of the port. She scanned the area and found what she was looking for, and launched the mobile suit up on a thruster assisted leap.

The Impulse landed on the flying green platform that flew under it - the legs connecting itself to the adaptors mounted on the GUUL subflight lifter's fuselage. The lifter gave the ZAFT mobile suit additional flight capabilities and weapons, and Luna utilized this to increase the mobility of the Blast Impulse for this mission. As she flew higher into the firework lit sky, Luna scanned her sensors and listened in on the tacnet, closely monitoring the chatter from the battle and word from the rest of her team.

* * *

Hitomi completed her final checklist as her ZAKU Warrior settled unto _Minerva's_ catapult one. She had spent most of the afternoon hanging around the hanger bay, waiting for the call that would send her and her teammates out to intercept the suspected raiders. She didn't have a good night's rest, still excited after the events of last night. Her body still ached from where she was hurt by the goons, and that made her stiff in her joints. She was also bothered by thoughts of the encounter - her musing brought back the cold and evil faces of the bullies and the calm yet dangerous look he got from Leva. Finally she thought of her _Taichou_, as she knelt on the road's surface screaming in apparent fear and anger, as if she had seen a _ghost_, in the form of Leva's woman companion.

It was strange for Hitomi the she felt affected so much by what happened. Was it the feeling of fear and helplessness she felt when she was surrounded by the violent men who sought to violate her? Was it the strength and courage of Leva that was so attractive to her that it tempted her with uneasy thoughts about him? Or was it the pity she felt for the Luna-_Taichou_, for she never thought she would see her in that state.

Hitomi shook her head, hoping to drive these thoughts of doubt from her mind - she needed to concentrate now on the mission. She had to, in order to succeed and survive the fight ahead. She knew the enemy to be one not to be taken lightly, for she felt she didn't perform well during her last encounter with the raiders. Although they were driven off, it took Kira-san's intervention to save her when he mobile suit was incapacitated. She was determined not to be defeated this time, and was determined to be a victor on the last night of the year.

She saw the catapult warning sign signal readiness for her to take off, and Hitomi firmly declared her intention too as she released the catapults hold on her mobile suit. "Hitomi Minamoto, Blaze ZAKU Warrior. Taking off!"

* * *

Devereux watched as Hitomi's pink ZAKU lifted off from the starboard launch bay of the _Minerva_ and jumped on a GUUL subflight lifter launched from the portside one. She silently prayed for the success of this mission to stop whoever had attacked the University that night, and the safety of her pilots. She still had not received any report on what the unknown raiders did in the University, and what if any specific targets they may have. She still was not sure if the raiders had mobile suits, but Lunamaria had equipped her team to match the threat, and Devereux knew she had to trust the judgment of her mobile suit team commander and her pilots. She only wished that the _Minerva_ could be directly involved in the fight, but she knew that to bring _Minerva's_ firepower to bear could cause massive collateral damage that Radul and High Command wanted to avoid.

So for the moment, Devereux sat and waited. Waiting for news as a battle unfolded is the hardest part of a commander's job, but she had to wade through the difficulties. She had ordered her crew to constantly update, whether if the news was bad or good.

But she never expected to receive bad news this early into the fight. "_Kanchou_, we have a problem down at the launch bays!" Abi suddenly reported, her voice full of tension.

* * *

Rena's ZAKU Phantom was just about to be mounted unto the catapult when disaster struck. The heat from the friction upon contact between a mobile suit's feet and the catapult plus the stresses from launching had caused microfractures on the catapult's shock absorbers, which the repair crews replaced during the ship's refit with new but defective parts. This was a mechanical error with disastrous consequences, but almost undetectable with the fractures hidden in the internals of the absorbers. It was a matter of time before the fractures gave out, and unluckily for the _Minerva_ the time was now.

As the catapult returned to ready position after Hitomi's launch, the fractures were now superheated and very fragile. And when the Phantom's came into contact with it, the structure collapsed as the superheated parts broke under the stress of pressure. The Phantom slid off balance as the support on her leg gave way, not allowing the Phantom to immediately regain footing. Rena tried to compensate, but the suddenness of the collapse was too much for her.

The Phantom crashed unto the launch bay deck, and the smashed catapult was ripped from its moorings. An explosion erupted as the capacitors of the magnets that propelled the catapult flashed, triggering emergency lights and sprinklers to come to life inside the launch tube. But the massive surge of energy from the capacitors also damaged the main power circuits to the launch systems, causing a shutdown of power in the launch and hanger bays.

Looking down unto the fallen mobile suit from the confines of the catapult control room, tech shook off the surprise and shock to notify the bridge of their dilemma. Catapult one was now blocked by debris and the damaged ZAKU - and with the sudden loss of power all throughout the launch and hanger bay, the _Minerva_ was effectively denied its ability to launch the rest of the mobile suit team for the moment.

* * *

&

"What is going on, Arthur!" Devereux demanded from her executive officer, who was communicating directly with the launch bay operators and damage control personnel.

"We've got a problem on cat-one," Arthur answered. "The catapult's support braces are broken and it's unusable. Ellington's ZAKU has fallen on the deck, blocking the launch bay, still attached to the catapult system. The main capacitor for the catapult shorted out and exploded; all power to the launch control systems and the hanger are out. We can't use the remaining two catapults until the backup systems cycles the power routing. Damage control estimates it to be out for five to ten minutes. As for casualties, we no reports yet, but it looks like we don't have any."

"Can't we divert power from other systems?"

"We could, _Kanchou_," Arthur replied. "But damage control says they need to diagnose the problem more thoroughly. The damaged systems may not take any sudden surge of high-energy without being damaged."

Devereux closed her eyes in frustration. She knew she couldn't risk another electrical explosion in the launch bay, with all the dangerous munitions stored there and the risk of harming the crews. She sighed as she accepted the inevitable.

"Very well then, XO. Tell damage control to continue working on the problem and try to get power back to launch control." Devereux looked over to Abi. "Contact HQ and then Luna. Tell them of our situation. Then tell Madison to board her GUUL and carefully launch from bay two. It may take some time but we need to get everything we can up into the air. Luna and Hitomi need all the help they can get."

* * *

"Say that again, _Minerva_?" Luna was disbelieving what Abi had just said, and listened more intently as Abi repeated her dire report. Luna quickly thought about the situation. She and Hitomi were flying the battle now, and the raiders looked like they had not seen them yet at least or took action against them. She knew that they were expecting them, so Luna wanted to approach them as carefully as they could. She knew they needed help, but Madison and Rena were bound to be delayed, as well as the support forces from the other ZAFT units. She knew they had to hold out and stop the raiders from escaping, and to stop this madness that was to engulf the world once more in a new year of flames.

* * *

_**Outside the Physics Department Building**_

_**University of Gibraltar**_

**_Gibraltar City _**

**_Gibraltar_**

_**December 31, CE 74**_

"NO!" Solar shouted, as saw Yarth's lifeless body fell into the ground. She knocked Naki off his feet with a tackle to his right side. Naki struck back with a blow to her face with the gun's butt, and he was about to shoot her when Adam stopped him with a command. "Back off, both of you!" Adam shouted.

Smiling evilly, Naki got up and got in the car. Her head spinning in pain, Solar picked herself from the ground and kicked Naki's door. She ran around to the other side, and got on the front passenger's seat. She turned angrily at Adam immediately after the door slammed behind her. "Why did you have to kill him!"

With uncanny speed, Adam grabbed Solar by the collar and dragged her close. "Listen to me, Louisser. He had done his job and we didn't need him anymore. We can't fit him in our units, but we can't leave him alive. So it's _better_ to kill him, and I made that decision. Do _not_ question _my_ commands _ever_ again!" Adam let go of her roughly, and Solar's struck her head on the door window. Adam contacted Leva once more. "We're all inside the vehicle. Clear the way."

Solar saw the Wraith circle above then dive down towards a point to the left of their vehicle. A missile corkscrewed out of the mobile suit's leg launcher, and struck the Campus perimeters' stonewall that was adjacent to a major road crossing through the city. A large gap was made from the wall, with a large, smoking crater as the only evidence of missile's forceful impact.

Adam slammed hard on the gas, and the wheels of the SUV smoked as the vehicle roared into life. Adam turned the SUV towards the gap, the vehicle jumped into the air as it cleared the gap. The SUV landed on a grassy knoll, and soon it swerved into the highway. The vehicle was on the opposite lane to the direction Adam wanted to go, but he didn't care. He slammed more gas into the engine, and the SUV ran at speeds dangerous to the cars flying past him or swerving out of control.

Adam drove the SUV hard, but Solar was amazed how precise his maneuvering was. Adam turned the wheel right and left, unheeding the frightened horns from incoming traffic. He glanced to the opposite lane and called out to Leva, who was flying his Wraith overhead. "How's the other lane, Two?"

"It's clear."

Adam jerked hard to his right, and SUV climbed violent over the center island to the correct lane. Sparks flew from underneath the vehicle as it landed hard on the concrete highway. Solar saw that the lane had fewer cars, but Adam was still outracing them with his dangerous speeds. "How far now?"

Leva answered once more. "About two kilometers. I'm going ahead. All clear with the road, the police are just reacting to your unorthodox exit. I can just see them diverting now towards your position." The Wraith accelerated ahead, and descended unto the open field just to the north of them, near the Spanish border.

After a few minutes of uneventful driving, SUV reached the spot where Leva landed. His wraith was looking towards the South, were there pursuers were four kilometers away. The vehicle screeched to a stop, sending rocks flying, and three raiders jumped out of it. They ran towards a clear spot in the field, seemingly devoid of anything. The three took out their small control unit, and pressed a button, that revealed their vehicles for their final escape.

The open space shimmered as the mirrage colloid cloaking the three Wraiths disappeared. The team had gambled on keeping the mirrage colloid activated when they left the mobile suits, which they retrieved from the Barracuda two hours before. The stealth system could function continuously for ninety minutes, and they had formulated their plan for their raid along that time schedule. It would leave them only a few minutes of cloaked flight available, but they gambled on that and compensated by avoiding combat after the retrieval of the suits. The three stepped unto their lift cables to board the Wraiths, and Solar last saw her compatriots as they entered the cockpit.

Solar jumped into her cockpit seat and reactivated the mirrage colloid, but was dismayed to see that her cloaking device was malfunctioning. She tried a couple of more times with the system's controls, but it was not working. Solar got on the tacnet to report this mishap.

"What do you intend to do, Three?" Adam asked in a digitized voice.

"I'll cover your retreat. I'll have to reboot the system to see if the mirrage would work." Solar responded.

Leva's voice chimed in. "I'll back her up, One. You and Four pull out. You have the disk, and that's the priority for this mission."

"Very well," Adam consented. "But leave as soon as you can - avoid combat if possible."

"I think you should go now, my brother," Naki said his piece. "Trouble's on the way. I wouldn't want to see my brother _die_ a failure, wouldn't I?" Solar tried to figure out what he meant, and saw in her sensor the approach of two fast moving dots, heading for their position.

With grim determination, Solar began the process of rebooting the OS. She punched in the emergency shutdown protocol, and the instrumentation and lights of the cockpit died out instantly as the battery was shut down in the process. As the APU kicked in, Solar proceeded to restart the battery. But the sudden shutdown activated the safeguards for the power system, and the MFD indicated that it would take a minute before the battery could power up again. With the enemy approaching fast, every second counted, and Solar was now vulnerable within the minute, with her trans-phase armor and mirrage colloid unusable, and her mobile suit in a whole immovable. All she could rely on was Leva's protection, hoping he could cover her for the minute she had to endure.

* * *

They were five kilometers away now, flying at a thousand meters high. Through a mag scan of the area, Hitomi saw two of the four mobile suits disappear in a cloud of colloid particles. Two of the black figures stayed on the ground, not attempting to vanish under cloak. She heard Luna-_Taichou's_ command a half a second later, and Hitomi began her attack, firing off a volley of short ranged missiles loaded with sulfur canisters to counter the cloaking device's effectiveness. The four missiles streaked towards the two, grounded mobile suits, diving at their position before it pulled up in the last second. The missiles exploded in airburst, and red-orange sulfur particles rained down on the ground, covering it and silhouetting the raider mobile suits, one of which was attempting to hide under its cloaking device.

* * *

Leva cursed as the sulfur particles rained from the sky covered his Wraith and jammed his stealth system. He angrily turned off the system, revealing the Wraith to the naked eyes of his enemies. As a counterattack, Leva volleyed off his own group of missiles, which corkscrewed upwards. The missile locked unto a pink-colored ZAKU, which was the source of the canister missiles that voided the use of the Wraith's best defense system. Leva launched the Wraith after his volley, deploying his right hand saber with a snap-hiss, preparing to deal a deathblow on the Coordinator enemy. He saw Solar's Wraith still motionless, still not completing its reboot sequence, and the Impulse dropping down to attack it.

* * *

Luna watched with satisfaction as Hitomi successfully completed her part in their initial attack. The sulfur clouds the canister released would deny the raiders the effective use of the mirrage colloid. She was irritated that two of the raiders succeeded in getting away, not affected by their attack. She didn't know if those who fled had whatever they stole from the University, but Luna was determined not to let the other two get away. We need to capture them; we need to find out they stole and what they know.

She angled the Impulse for an attack run on the two mobile suits, with Hitomi imitating her move on her wing. One of the raiders launched missiles, which towards the direction of Hitomi. She shouted out a warning, but Hitomi was already going through evasive maneuvers. The raider followed his volley with a charging attack, and she saw Hitomi already commencing her defensive fire.

Luna concentrated her attack on the grounded raider, and began her strike by a devastating volley from her Kerberos cannons. Two angry red beams propelled downwards to the raider, exploding the ground to its side, causing the raider to fall on its back from the explosion. The raider was covered totally with smoke, and Luna could not get a visual on it. She dropped her crosshairs on the spot she last saw the raider, and fired off multiple beams from her rifle. More explosions came to life, and at first Luna was sure she had made a clean kill of the raider.

But the raider was not dead, as it flew out of the smoke sideways and darted off to its right. The raider commenced her attack with a dual blast from its shoulder mounted rail guns, and two silvery projectiles rocketed towards Luna. She dragged the controls hard to the right, and the Impulse jerked sideways in that direction. The Impulse dodged one of the high-velocity rounds by a few meters, but the second caught the ZAFT mobile suit squarely on its beam shield. The shield took in much of the force, while the rest was absorbed by the variable phase armor, but Luna still felt the shockwave from the explosion and was forced to back off for seconds.

The black raider began to climb to intercept her, but had already anticipated that and reacted to it. She opened up with missiles from the bulbous pods over the Impulse's shoulders. The volley split into two, heading for both flanks of the raider. The raider continued to climb for her spinning on its axis while firing its head mounted Vulcans. The anti-missile fire raked through Luna's missiles, exploding them in midair. Some got through the withering fire, and zeroed in on the target, but the raider suddenly dropped altitude at the last moment, causing the missiles to hit each other.

Luna tried to exploit the raider's sudden move, locking onto it, putting the raider squarely at the middle of her crosshairs. She triggered both her beam cannons and rail guns together, producing a devastating volley. The raider saw the attack, and tried to avoid it, but one of the red beams caught it in its tracks. But the raider quickly deployed its beam barrier, which parried the powerful beam effectively.

The raider had now matched the Impulse height, and was coming in now from Luna's left, twin beam sabers now deployed. Luna responded on the fly, firing a swarm of canister missiles at it. The missiles were to close to deploy the sulfur particles effectively, but the suddenness of the unorthodox attack caught the raider by surprise, as ten missiles pummeled its black body. The missile didn't explode, but impact released the sulfur into the air, again effectively denying the use of mirrage particles.

Again Luna thought she had the one up on her adversary but again the raider showed its brutal skill in combat. The black mobile suit spun away from the damaging projectiles and accelerated to Luna's side. A slash from one of its sabers caught the GUUL's left engine, exploding it and the missile stored on its adjacent missile launcher. Luna had to quickly jettison the doomed lifter, but utilized it one last time to attack the raider. As the Impulse was released from the GUUL, she kicked it towards the raider, and peppered it with fire from her own Gatling cannons.

The raider avoided the falling GUUL, but was caught at the edge of its final explosion as the Gatling rounds found the unexploded ammunition. The raider fell from the sky in an uncontrolled descent, but the pilot once again showed mastery of the machine as the raider landed roughly but safely on the ground. Luna landed a few seconds later, and now she faced the black nemesis equally on the ground, with no major advantage for each of them. She knew she outgunned it, but the raider could out fly her and evade her once it got the mirrage colloid into play. For now it was a stalemate, and Luna circled with the raider, as both combatants waited for the one to make the first move.

* * *

Hitomi saw the raider come for her, but she was now caught in an evasive maneuver to escape the deadly missile attack aimed for her. She countered the attack with a missile volley of her own, and she was satisfied to see her projectiles striking true all of the raiders, but the explosions covered the raider from view. She looked all over, and almost died as the raider appeared above of her, beam saber above its head and coming down at her for a killing blow.

She raised the ZAKU's shield just before the saber connected, and Hitomi struggled to repel the power of the blow. One of the spikes mounted on the shield was severed by the beam energy, and the saber slid downwards, nearly striking the left wing of the GUUL. Due to the sudden change in momentum, Hitomi lost her balance and control of the lifter, and was struck by fear as another attack from the raider's saber cut off the top of the left missile launcher of her Wizard Pack. Emergency klaxons indicated catastrophic damage to the launcher, and the possibility of a missile explosion.

Cursing to herself, Hitomi released the Wizard Pack, but before it could get away from her, the raider was attacking once more. Hitomi slammed on the airbrakes, and pushed forward on the stick, and the lifter dropped the ZAKU out of the way as two silver slugs cored the damage wizard pack. Hitomi pushed all the acceleration she could get out of the GUUL engine to escape the explosion, and she did with inches to spare.

Hitomi rose up to gain some altitude, looking left and right for the raider. She found it coming around to the west, bearing towards her but still getting her within its firing arc. The were flying over the Rock now, the four hundred meter high limestone monolith that was the distinguishing feature of the PLANT colony. Hitomi fired first, continuously surrounding the approaching raider with beam fire from her rifle. The raider jerked left and right to avoid her strike, and fired back with its own hand held weapon. Both mobile suits danced in the dark sky, the flashes of the their fire adding to the fireworks now fading away, as the revelers on the ground had now noticed the more dangerous displays that were now playing out in the night sky.

The raider changed its tactics, and began to shimmer as it put the mirrage colloid to play. Hitomi knew she had to get it now; once the raider was cloaked, she wouldn't be able to detect it, and it could either escape or stalk her. But with the loss of her Wizard Pack, she lost her canister missiles to counter the colloid particles. She had to think of a way to keep it from cloaking away.

She decided on what to do. Screaming a loud battle cry, Hitomi pushed everything she could out of the ZAKU and dove straight at the raider. She pulled out the beam tomahawk out of its holder behind the shield, and drew it out for her attack. The raider hesitated, and Hitomi took the chance to complete her suicidal attack.

A large sonic boom was heard in the surrounding countryside as the pink ZAKU slammed into the black raider, the impact dragging both mechanical beast down from the heavens. Fighting the pain of the impact, Hitomi had the ZAKU's left arm release the shield and grip tightly unto the black raider, enveloping it with a deadly hug. Hitomi started to bring down the tomahawk, but the raider blocked that by grabbing the ZAKU's right arm. Hitomi saw the ground growing as they descended rapidly, and she closed her eyes in anticipation of the massive for of the impending crash.

The two mobile suits slammed on the east side of the rock, about two hundred meters from the bottoms. Hitomi felt metal crashed and screamed as the force of the impact shook the ZAKU violently. She was thrown up and down her seat as the world spun around her, as the two behemoths slid and rolled down the side of the Rock, taking out houses, trees and power lines along the way. The violence lasted for less than a minute, before the two crashed into a warehouse at the foot of the tall hill, settling in cloud of dust, smoke and debris.

* * *

Luna watched the raider carefully as they both continued to size each other up, not wanting to take the disadvantage of moving first. She was getting irritated with this fight, wanting to end it quickly with a pull of her triggers. She wanted this dance done right now, and was happy to see the raider share her feelings, but not her patience. The raider dashed forward, using its speed to close in on her.

She smiled inwardly, as Luna launched another barrage of missiles, this time armed with high-explosive warheads. The missiles bore down on the raider, but it continued to aim for her, again using its head cannons to shoot down Luna's volley. The raider juked to it right, then fired two more shots from its rail guns. Luna countered by drifting to her right, using her foot thrusters. The Impulse deftly avoided the attack that struck a building dead center causing it two explode. Luna watched in horror as he saw people inside the building die in the flames. _I forgot about the civilians here! I have to be more careful_.

Luna decided to try another tack. The Impulse replaced its beam rifle to it back hip connector, and drew out its two Defiant beam javelins, its primary melee weapons in the Blast configuration. Luna joined both weapons to form one long two-sided spear, with three bladed beam blades on both sides of the weapon. The Impulse spun the javelin above its head, and then tucked it down with its right hand, ready to face the raider's attack. Luna hoped that the length of the weapon would deter the approach of the raider, so she could use the advantage of range her other weapons can bring to bear.

She was about to challenge the raider once more when she heard explosion in the distance, and saw the fire that erupted on the face of the Rock. She wondered what had happened, then realized that her teammate had flown to engage the other raider in that direction.

_"HITOMI!"_

* * *

Solar hesitated, as he saw the Impulse deploy its two-sided melee weapon. It was trying to keep her away, content with fighting from afar. The Impulse had more weapons that it could use against her, but Solar knew she could out maneuver her opponent with her speed and agility. She checked the status of her mirrage colloid system; it was still hampered by the sulfur particles that showered on her Wraith. The system was getting to the point where it could be used again, but she to do it in a way that the Impulse wouldn't have a chance to use its canister missiles once more.

The Impulse turned, looking to the direction of the Rock, which made Solar do the same. A large fire had erupted there, and Solar realized that Leva was fighting in that area, and could have caused the explosion. She knew that Leva could be dead, the fire the funeral pyre for him and his Wraith, but it did serve the purpose of attracting the attention of the Impulse, giving her a chance to take the advantage again.

Solar charged once more, using a combined volley of missiles and rail gunfire. The Impulse reacted predictably, dodging to its side while firing its head cannons to take out her volley. The Wraith tried to close in from the Impulse's left, but Solar had to back off as the ZAFT mobile suit swung its javelin staff at her, narrowly taking off the Wraith's head. Solar tried to slash with a beam saber on her egress, but just missed the Impulse wildly.

She tried to run away, but the surrounding area was too lacking of hiding places to help her escape. The Impulse gained on her, and Solar knew he had to fight it off once more. She tried by using her beam rifle next, but the Impulse just parried his multiple attacks using its anti-beam shield. The ZAFT pilot again tried to take her down, with red beams reaching angrily from the hip mounted beam cannons. Solar dove hard for the ground to miss it, and slammed the Wraith into another building. She was caught in a position where the Impulse could easily destroy her, and she would not be able to react quickly.

But the Impulse stopped and did not fire. Solar wondered what could have happened, what reason there could be that the ZAFT pilot would not finish her off. Then she saw it, the injured people streaming in panic out of the intact part of the damaged building, running for their lives to escape the death that was looming above them, running through the firing arc of the Impulse mobile suit.

Solar realized the advantage she could use, and planned to exploit it to the maximum. She moved the Wraith towards the more populated area of the battlefield, putting it behind her as she turned to face the Impulse once more. She teased the ZAFT pilot to engage her while peppering him with heavy fire from her beam rifle. The Impulse was not attacking, just avoiding the murderous barrage Solar was enveloping it with. Solar knew she was winning, as she glanced for a second down at the MFD. The mirrage colloid system was coming up to effectiveness, and she could soon use the system to escape.

But the second she took to look down was enough for the Impulse to close into her without Solar noticing it, and Solar was surprised to see one tip of the beam javelin pass by her, catching the Wraith on the right arm. The beam blades on the edge sliced cleanly through the shoulder of the Wraith, cutting it off, and triggering an explosion as the energy connections to the arm shorted out violently.

* * *

Luna looked closely at the explosion that engulfed the raider after she cleaved its arm off. She glanced at her sensors to locate it, but the conflagration was making it hard for her scanners to get a good fix. Luna advanced the Impulse forward to search for the remains of the raider or finish it off. She succeeded in delivery critical damage to her opponent in its moment of hesitation, and she wanted to end the fight decisively.

Thus she was surprised as the black mobile suit appeared out of the dark clouds, rising to the air and climbing fast. Luna flexed the legs of the Impulse ready for launch, when three beam blasts caught her mobile suit on the body. The mobile crashed down on its back and Luna was shook violently on her cockpit seat, and for a second the monitor blanked out before it came back online. Luna tried to get the Impulse back on its feet and give chase to the raider, but as soon as she was up the raider fired again, catching the Blast Silhouette in its wake, slicing down the middle of the augmentation pack.

Luna pressed on the emergency release switch, and slammed on the thruster pedal to jump the Impulse away. The Silhouette blew up in a powerful explosion, but the last moments of the variable phase armor protection of the Impulse protected the mobile suit from more damage. The Impulse landed on its knees, but Luna had the reaction speed to maintain its balance.

She searched for her enemy, and found it disappearing as it activated its stealth system. Luna slammed her fist into her console in anger. _I let her go! And I may have lost Hitomi in the process!_ She wondered if she could give chase, but the raider had vanished completely. It could attack her now when she was vulnerable without the variable phase-shift armor to protect the Impulse, but it never appeared again.

She noticed a beeping on her communicator, and an incoming communications was calling for her attention on the tacnet. Luna opened the line and heard Madison's cry. "_Taichou! Taichou!_ Are you all right?"

"_Hai_," Luna responded. "But the raider got away."

"Do you want me to give chase? I have a couple of BABIs with me."

"_Iie_. Look for Hitomi. I last saw her going for the other one over to the east. There's no reason to chase the raider now, since we won't be able to find it while cloaked. We failed in this mission, and have to live with the consequences," Luna concluded, as she looked to the east, wondering and worrying if her comrade and friend was still alive.

* * *

She had a hard time seeing through her eyes, as it stung with pain together with all parts of her body. As Hitomi slowly opened her eyes, the view was blurred, as smoke had filled the ZAKU's cockpit and made it hard to see or breathe. Hitomi tied to move, but it was proving to be hard. She glance into the monitor, but she saw that it was broken, the Plexiglas shattered from the impact of the ZAKU's crash. Hitomi checked the other MFD for damage reports, and saw that her machine had taken critical hits all over, the ZAKU's head was torn apart, and that the left arm and both legs were totally unusable. Her sensors were out, and she had no idea what happened to the raider.

Hitomi slowly removed her broken helmet, and tossed it aside onto the back the ZAKU's cockpit. He pressed a switch on the side of seat, and explosive bolts detached the cockpit's hatch in a loud bang. The cold night's air intruded into the cockpit, mixed with the smell of gunpowder and dead bodies. Glancing into the outside, Hitomi searched for the raider, but did not locate it at once from all the smoke that surrounded her. Hitomi was painstakingly removing her seatbelts hold on her, when she saw the dark shadow that was looming in front of her. She activated the searchlight mounted on the ZAKU's body, and trained it on the shadow.

She stopped in fear, as she beheld her enemy standing in front of her, battered but not unbowed. The raider was just as damaged as she was, but was still intact and operational when it came to its legs. The raider had lost its left arm, which was shattered and dangling uselessly on its side, but the rest were all there, although scratched and bruised from the violence of their crash into the Rock's face.

_How did it survive that well_? And then she remembered. It activated its beam barrier before the crash. That protected the rest of its body, plus its trans-phase armor. Hitomi laughed harshly, stopping only as a bolt of pain shot through her body. _I've been defeated and about to die_, she thought grimly, as the raider pointed its beam rifle directly at her.

* * *

Leva brought down his beam rifle, pointing it at the fallen ZAKU. He aimed it at the cockpit, magnifying his targeting view, pinpointing at the opening caused by his saber's slash. As the crosshairs centered on the gap, Leva was satisfied. He gently placed his finger on the trigger, ready to begin to apply pressure, ready to release a deadly beam of energy that would ensure to quick death of the ZAFT pilot.

He took one last look at the target, and saw a glimpse of the pilot through the open cockpit, which caused him to hesitate from shooting her at once. He saw the long black hair, framed on her pale face, wet and glistening with sweat and blood. The cut on her forehead covered half her face red, and her eyes were closed, hiding the green eyes the shined like emeralds the first time Leva saw them, on that smoke filled club they both went to the night before.

Leva remember her for her courage, trying to fight off three thugs to protect her body and her honor. He had decided to help her, risking identification to make sure she was safe. Leva never questioned himself why he did that, given the sensitive nature of their mission required no direct contact with other people, especially members of the enemy forces. But now there was doubt in his actions, his newfound bond with this girl was cemented the moment he committed himself to her safety.

And now he was in a position to end her life. Leva knew he had to pull the trigger, for the security of his cause and the success of the mission. But deep inside he felt the need to let this girl live. Whatever the reason, he didn't want to kill her.

_One more death won't make a difference_, he argued to himself. _I've already succeeded in my mission. And there is something about her that stops me from killing her._

She had now seen him, and reacted with anger mixed with hopelessness at her fate. Her eyes steeled, the girl was drawing up whatever ounce of courage she had left to face the fate that befell her. Leva smiled proudly at her display of bravery, gaining more admiration for her strength.

_Her name is Hitomi, isn't it? What a wonderful name for such an interesting person._

Leva shifted his aim, letting the beam rifle hang limply at his Wraith's side. He twisted the mobile suit to face away from the fallen ZAKU, and took a few steps away. He prepared to activate his cloaking device, but paused as he heard her voice call out to him from the outside.

* * *

The pain from her head was throbbing, and Hitomi was having a hard time seeing with all the blood covering her eyes. Her back felt as if in flames, and she couldn't feel her legs. She felt helpless; she wanted to die, to end the pain she was going through. But the raider seemed to be relishing in her pain, as it lowered its rifle, unwilling to deliver the coup de grace that Hitomi was desperately wanting.

And then the raider turned its back on her, and began to move away. Hitomi was confused and angered at it for denying her what she desired. _How dare you turn your back on me and leave me like this!_

"Why don't you _shoot_? You've defeated me. _Kill me now!_" Hitomi screamed over her loudspeaker.

The black mobile suit paused, as if contemplating whether to leave or complete its former threat. "Because you fought well, and I don't need to kill a defeated and defenseless enemy." The voice of the pilot came from its own external loudspeaker.

Painfully willing herself to move, Hitomi focused all her remaining strength on her controls to lift her ZAKU's right arm. The arm groaned as it struggled to point straight at the raider, lining up the shattered remains of the beam rifle at the raider's back. "I am not defenseless. I could kill you."

The raider turned to face her once more, but did nothing to signify it as a threat, knowing that Hitomi could do nothing to hurt it. It stood there for a few seconds, before the pilot spoke again.

"Is that what you _desire_, Hitomi? To kill or be killed?" the raider said. "You'll get your chance. Soon. But for now, you must _live_."

Hitomi opened her mouth in surprise, as she slowly remembered the face behind the voice. _It's him!_ "Leva…"

"_Hai_, its me. I never wanted to meet you again like this, but I guess _Fate_ is unkind to both of us tonight." The raider's head shifted upwards, as if it sensed others approaching. Hitomi could hear the whine of mobile suit engines, and the garbled voice of Madison calling out to her over the tacnet.

The black mobile suit launched into the air, slowly climbing into the night sky. The raider mobile suit seemed to shimmer, and its physical form began to blur, disappearing into thin air, as the mirrage colloid stealth system enveloped it, back dropped by the explosions of fireworks the belied the tragedy that was happening that joyous night. The head of the mobile suit was the last thing Hitomi saw of it, and the last thing she heard was Leva's somber farewell.

"Goodbye, Hitomi. Until the next time we meet. I _dread_ when that day should come, for then we shall settle this fight as enemies. I only hope we can see each other one day as friends."

Hitomi felt tears mix with her blood as she watched Leva's mobile suit vanish. She felt her life ebbing away, the darkness overwhelming her consciousness. As her eyes closed she concentrated on one name, the focus of her short and incomplete life, as if his name was last memory of her ill-fated dreams.

"_Leva…_"

* * *


	10. Phase Nine

_**Author's Notes:**_

_FINALLY! I'm back. I know its been a long THREE MONTHS before I wrote something about MSGS Renaissance, and I apologize for the inconvenience. I won't give any detailed reasons for my sudden disappearance; suffice to say that real life reared its ugly head, and had to deal with a lot of things. But things are getting better for me now, and it gives me time to continue my humble tale._

_Thanks again to **nick2951, irishdragon, cherryheart, cajunman380, Geonitz, Greater Avenger, Blitz** and **Crimson Blademaster** and all others that I didn't include here for their reviews. Again they give me insights about my work and inspiration to continue. I'd like to thank also all those who have read my story without reviewing them for giving me almost five thousand hits since the last maintenance of for reading my tale. I'm sorry I had to make you wait so long for this update, so I hope you would enjoy this and keep on reading my fiction._

_To answer **Geonitz's** question about Erica Simmons: yes, she **is** a Coordinator. Based on Wikipedia's entry about her, she hid this fact for reasons unexplained. I've also read threads from other forums that suggests she once worked for the Asimov Design Bureau, the ZAFT-funded think-tank that designed the first mobile suit, the YMF-01B Proto GINN and it's mass produced version, the ZGMF-1017 GINN, before she left the PLANTs with her family for Orb. This bit of information, however, is speculation and unconfirmed._

_This chapter would be my most action- and combat-oriented one, and I have tried my best to capture the essence of mobile suit combat and realistically portray them in my story. I am not an expert in mobile suit tactics, nor do I claim to be one. I just try to put such scenes into narrative based on what I watched on the anime and the technical descriptions of the mobile weapons that are available on the web. Orchestrating mecha battles is hard work, and I hope you bear with me with some mistake I may make._

_In a different, but somewhat related matter, I have begun to adapt the Gundam SEED saga into a paper and pencil RPG format, based on the rules created by Palladium Books. I've already completed the technical readouts for fifteen mobile suit designs, mostly beginner level mobile suits and some high level NPC suits (Freedom, Justice, etc.). I've also included stats for some of my original designs featured in this fan fiction, plus standard game rules and character classes. Eventually I would put them up in a website, but for now I am finishing things up. For those who want some examples of the RPG adaptations, just give me an email or private message._

_Also, I am FINALLY looking for a beta reader, someone who could stand checking for mistakes in long chapters. Again, please leave me a message if you're interested._

_Please be advised however, that Mobile Suit Gundam SEED: Renaissance has become slightly AU because of Gundam SEED Destiny Final Plus. While I have kept the story following official canon as much as I can, the producers' attempt to make up for their shortcomings on how Destiny ended by Making Final Plus totally screwed up my post Destiny history leading up to Renaissance. I am not flaming Final Plus: I only find it as too much of compromise by the makers of Gundam SEED to answer the criticisms Destiny faced upon ending. For purposes of this fan fiction I still follow the original ending, but due to Final Plus my story is alternate universe in canon terms. But I will still follow canon in terms of characterizations and technical issues of the storyline_.

_Once more, I thank everyone who has continued to read my tale, and apologize for the very long wait you had to endure for this chapter. But the story now continues, and I'm happy to be writing again. Once more I ask for you patience with my grammar mistakes; I'm not perfectly fluent with English; I'm only human, a Natural, and not a Coordinator, though I wish I was (just kidding). Enjoy._

_SEED Mode On!

* * *

_

_**Disclaimers: **_

Mobile Suit Gundam SEED is owned and copyrighted by Mitsuo Fukuda, the Sotsu Agency, Sunrise and BANDAI.

* * *

**Phase Nine: Angels In A Storm**

* * *

**_Barracuda_**

_**Somewhere in the Atlantic**_

_**January 2, CE 75**_

_Onee-chan…_

Solar found herself in the vast field again. Once more she was running, trying to give chase to her friends, who were running way ahead of her. But she couldn't find her two companions anymore; they where nowhere within her sights. Solar tried to shout out their names, but no voice escaped her when she called out. _What's going on? Where did Robby and Jacob go? Why did they leave me behind?_ These thoughts went through her mind, and she ran through the field, her consciousness being drowned by her growing fear. But she stopped, and turned away from where she wanted to go, as she heard that voice again.

She found her standing under the bare tree once more, surrounded by what looked light a million glowing stars. She was smiling back at her, and beckoning to her with arms wide open, and Solar felt a sense of peace as much as fear at her warm and friendly gestures.

_Onee-chan…_

Her call was like a mother's lullaby, something so soothing that she wanted to keep listening, but comfortably lulling her to slumber. Solar fought the enveloping darkness, angrily struggling to shake away the pull of sleep. Once more it felt like lifetime to reach the mysterious girl, and Solar felt her knees collapse as she struggled to stand in front of her.

Solar felt warm hands gently hold her onto her shoulders. The sensation from the girl's touch felt like she was in heaven, and all the pain in her soul was fading away. She felt herself standing, guided by the girl's firm grip, and once more stood face-to-face with the apparition. Solar chanced a look at the girl, and soon found herself enraptured by the girl's gaze, seeing her own eyes looking back at her.

The girl smiled - a smile that promised peace and succor for all of Solar's carried chaos. The girl gently reached for Solar's cheeks, caressing them soothingly. Tears coursed down Solar's eyes, as she fought the urge to collapse on the girl's arms from all the weariness and sadness she felt. The girl nodded, understanding her pain, and spoke to her once more - her promise of a better future. A future Solar knew nothing about nor understood, but found herself wishing for. The words were singing to her, and once more she felt the grip of slumber clench around her, calling her to rest.

_Soon, onee-chan. Soon. Someone is coming for you - someone is riding the storm to find you. Soon, onee-chan. Soon._

And with these words the girl disappeared in a bright supernova, and Solar was forced to close her eyes in pain. But the pain slowly faded as the darkness overpowered her, bringing her back to the light of reality.

She woke from her land of dreams back to a world of tears.

* * *

Leva heard Solar stir from inside the optimization chamber, showing signs of awakening from troubled dreams. Their bio-maintenance process was over hours ago, but it seemed that exhaustion had taken too much from the girl, who had overslept until now. Leva lifted the canopy to open the chamber, and sat down on the side of her bed and place his hand on Solar's shoulders. He shook her shoulders gently, hoping to wake her from her troubled dream, without scaring her from slumber.

Slowly Solar's eyes opened, blinking away tears from the harshness of the submarine carrier's harsh cabin lights. Leva heard a small sob escape her, and she cuddled close as more tears formed around her beautiful blue eyes.

"Hey," Leva whispered. "Good morning."

Solar looked at him for a second, before looking down at her bed. "Hey…"

Leva smiled at her. His friend was a complex one; she could be hard and ruthless as anyone of them, but she had a gentle heart that could easily be saddened by such things as dreams. "Are you feeling better now? You've been out for a long time we were starting to worry."

He heard a snort from one corner of the room, and he saw Solar's eyes hardened as they bought looked at Naki, who was keeping his silence as he watched his brother. Amusement played around his eyes, mixed with a nauseated look at Leva's gentleness. The other Extended stood up straight from the bulkhead he was leaning on. "Yeah, about time you hauled your ass off that bed. We have a lot of things to do. Adam wants to talk to you. Yesterday."

Solar wanted to say something back, but Leva spoke first. "Naki, could you please tell the commander that she's awake? We'll be there in a few minutes. Isn't that right, Solar." Solar gazed at Leva angrily, but he didn't flinch. The girl sighed and nodded, and Leva heard his brother shuffle out the room, grumbling darkly as the door closed behind him.

"Sorry about that," Leva began softly. "But Naki's right. The commander wanted to talk to you about the mission, but he didn't want to wake you prematurely." Leva stood up and walked to a locker, from which he took out a fresh set of uniforms for his friend. "You think you're up to it?"

Solar answered with a grunt. She pulled herself out of the bed, and gingerly stood up, trying to regain her bearings. She took the new clothes from Leva, and started to undress. "How long have I been out?"

Leva turned around facing away from her, as he heard her shuffle as she got out of her old clothes. "About a day and a half." He could see Solar's smooth white skin on her exposed nape, from her reflection on a nearby inert monitor. "I guess you were really tired after the flight, huh?"

Solar finished up quickly and walked pass Leva towards the door, before stopping there. She seemed hesitant to continue. "What's wrong?" Leva inquired.

Solar seemed to be pondering whether to ignore his question, but ultimately decided not too. "Nothing. Just had a bad… dream. And I had a hard time in the fight with the Impulse. The pilot was really tough. As if he had something against _me_."

Leva stepped close to her and looked at her curiously. He remembered his own battle during the mission, encountering a skilled mobile suit pilot himself. A pilot who turned out to be someone he just met a night ago, but he had grown to respect. Even admire.

He felt the hesitation to finish the pilot off, even though he had obviously defeated her. But he felt something different from Hitomi; he felt a bond with her that he couldn't destroy with her death. Not even their being on opposite and hostile sides could taint the feelings he felt. So he couldn't find himself pulling the trigger and ending her life. So he left, defeating her in battle, but letting her live. Hoping one day he could see her once more. Even though that day he might have to kill her. Or she might have to kill him.

But there was a mission to finish, and Leva knew he had to perform at his best to see to the mission's completion. He couldn't let these growing feelings within him be a foil to their Master's plan. But still he said a silent prayer, to whatever god that was looking over these insane creatures called humans, that Hitomi was safe. "I know how you feel, Solar. I know how you feel."

Solar raised an eyebrow to him, but Leva ignored her and said nothing more. He pressed a button and opened the door, and gestured for Solar to step out of the room and into the cold corridors of the submarine, on the way to the meeting with their cold-hearted commander.

* * *

_**The Pharaoh's Estate**_

_**Diego De Almagro**_

_**Chile State**_

_**Occupied South America**_

_**January 2, CE 75**_

He knocked softly on the ornate doors, before the Knife opened them and stepped into the dark bedroom. He walked stiffly to the room's center, before bowing in respect to the man who was his lord, his leader. "I am back, my Master."

The Pharaoh stirred briefly from his bed, tilting his bandaged head to face his loyal servant. "My friend," the Pharaoh hissed in greeting.

The Knife stood straight to begin his report. "Adam's mission was successful, Master. He has acquired the items that we need, and has inflicted considerable damage to ZAFT's capabilities here on Earth, without any losses on our side, other than for _expendables_."

"Good," said the Pharaoh. "Once more he has done well, that servant of mine. He has trained his teams well, and their successes please me."

The Knife stiffened, and he struggled to keep his mouth from twitching. Not that it mattered, the Master sees all, feels all. "You do not look pleased with this development, my friend," the Master said to him, reading his mind.

Steeling himself, the Knife gave his reply. "It's not that I don't approve of Adam's success - I know it will add positively to all your efforts. But I believe that the boy is reckless in his actions. He exposed his forces to counterattacks and losses - those that we cannot afford."

"I understand how you feel, my friend," the Pharaoh responded. "You know I trust your advice and judgement above others. But whatever Adam is doing is for my wishes. The same way as what you do is for my wishes too. So as long as we have positive gains, I can overlook the losses – especially if the mission was a tremendous success as Gibraltar."

Once more the Knife felt the anger in him well. He never really got along with the brash young man that the Master had rescued and adopted all those years ago, and molded into the cold-hearted warrior he was today. But he knew that he could not cross his Master, a man whose presupposition to kill was endless.

"How are the preparations on your side, my friend? Is your plan to stop the seraphim going well?" The Master had a good idea about his own plans, and the Knife had to answer him carefully.

"The plan goes well, my Master," the Knife began in reply. "The seraphim are already approaching the location that our agents had specified within the next, few hours. Your forces are already in position to deal with them. Soon they will not be your concern anymore, my Master."

"You have done well, my friend," the Pharaoh said with dark satisfaction, his voice rising with strength with every word. "Soon I will be rid of those who walk to thwart my wishes. I pity them; they all have to die because of the few among them who fuel my _hate_ for this wretched life the most. May their deaths precede mine, which I will face in peace with their demise."

* * *

_**Archangel** _

_**Somewhere In The South Pacific**_

_**January 3, CE 75**_

"What's our status, helm?" Murrue asked. After days of continuous submerged travel across the Pacific, the _Archangel_ had finally arrived at its first relay point. As was planned back at Angel's Point, the carrier was to surface, and send out a UHF laser transmission back to Orb via one of the island nation's military communications satellites, which was tasked to fly overhead at this point once every thirty-four minutes, loitering within the orbital window for fifteen minutes. The carrier passed out of the window twelve minutes ago, and Murrue and the crew had to endure twenty-two minutes of waiting before the satellite passed over them once more. Understanding the danger posed by staying stationary at one point for any period of time, Murrue made precautions to secure the ship from possible attack. She resolved to attempt contact in the dark time before dawn, to provide her the additional cover of darkness, and the ability to launch mobile suits for combat air patrol at first light.

There was an additional factor that they had to consider for this mission, and that was the influence of Mother Nature. They had arrived in the area while it was being lashed by a powerful typhoon, a meteorological monster that spanned almost three hundred kilometers in diameter, with strong winds up to one hundred miles per hour lashing out at the open ocean, Making the surface angry with forty-foot waves. Murrue knew that the storm will not hamper with their communications, the powerful laser system they were going to use was designed to operated under such severe conditions, but the weather will hamper the other aspects of the operation, and Murrue wanted to be ready for it. She could order this mission cancelled until when the storm breaks, but the command crew all agreed to risk it, noting that the storm provided extra cover for the ship from any preying eyes out there. So Murrue ordered a go for the mission, and now they were about to start.

"We're at antennae depth, _Kanchou_," Neumann replied from his station. "Depth at thirty-five meters."

"Thank you, Mr. Neumann," said Murrue. She tapped in some commands on her seat's console, bringing up the same display coming from the sensors station. "Keep your eyes and ears open, Mr. Chandra."

"_Hai, Kanchou_," Chandra replied. "Raising submerged radar antenna." Murrue could hear the whirring of servos as the pulse Doppler radar mast retracted out of the top of the bridge tower and break unto the surface of the rough seas. The skies above was dark; it was a little before dawn, and a weather formation was slowly moving in from the southwest. Murrue hoped that the storm clouds wouldn't interfere with their attempt to contact the satellite; she wished to finish this part of the mission as quickly as possible. The _Archangel_ was exposed to threats in the open ocean, and their best option to succeed in their hunt for the raiders was to keep themselves stealthy. "Antenna set, _Kanchou_," Chandra finally replied after several seconds.

"Give me a sweep in all directions. Passive only."

"_Hai, Kanchou_." Chandra activated his radar screen and began to search for nearby signals located by the passive sweep. "We've got nothing on the screen for two hundred fifty miles, _Kanchou,_ except for the storm cover. Nearest man-made signal is of commercial traffic, civilian freighter radar bearing three-ten, heading four-five, distance of two-sixty plus. No airborne signals that I can find. No military traffic within three hundred miles, _Kanchou_. We're in the clear for the moment."

Murrue nodded. "What about sonar?"

Again Chandra looked over his screens, this time studying his passive sonar display, showing the results from the sweeps of their towed sonar array. "Nothing within fifty miles that's man-made and moving. Several biologicals about thirty miles to northeast - probably sperm whales. But signals pretty choppy near the surface."

"Update me on the satellite," Murrue ordered next.

"It's approaching the window, and would be inside the grid in eight minutes, forty-two seconds.

_Things are going well for us up to now_, Murrue thought. _Time for the next phase of the operation_. "Mr. Neumann, rig the ship for surfacing."

"_Hai, Kanchou_. Setting the _Archangel_ for surfacing. Ballast tanks ready for draining. Pumps are on standby. Watertight hatches are sealed and checked. Ten degrees up-angle on the planes. The ship is rigged for surface."

Murrue reached for her handset and opened a line all over the ship. "This is the _Kanchou_ speaking. _Archangel_ has now reached its destination and will begin surface operations. The ship is now on level-two combat alert, and prepare for rough seas and severe weather." She replaced the handset before she looked down towards the bridge's cavernous combat information center. "CIC, you may commence launching our first patrol as soon as the ship finishes surfacing."

"_Hai_, _Kanchou_," came Meyrin's curt reply.

"Very well. You may begin, Mr. Neumann. Surface the ship," Murrue commanded.

"Surfacing the ship. Diving planes are holding at ten degrees up-angle. Emptying main ballast tanks." Neumann announced. Murrue felt the bow of the ship tilt up, as the _Archangel_ began its slow ascent to the surface. It took a little of six minutes, before the _Archangel_ crested the rough seas and surfaced. Murrue saw the darkness in the heavens caused by the typhoon system that they were in the middle off, and the angry waves that crashed upon the battle carrier.

"Surfacing complete, _Kanchou_. We are at hull depth of twelve meters and holding," Neumann finally reported.

"Thank you, Mr. Neumann. Meyrin-_kun_, commence your launch operations."

"_Hai, Kanchou_," Meyrin answered. "CIC to hanger bay control, begin preparations for mobile suit launch. X-one-niner-Alpha to bay number one."

* * *

Athrun heard Meyrin's voice order the transfer of the Infinite Justice to launch bay one. He felt the vibrations of the servos as the maintenance gantry began to slide towards launch bay one, and he watched from his viewport the tech crews scrambling to get out of the way. This was his first combat mission since the Onogoro raid, a standard combat air patrol of the nearby skies around the _Archangel_. He was glad that they were about to begin the more critical parts of their hunt, as soon as communications with Orb was made and intelligence was exchanged between both sides. But the _Archangel_ would be vulnerable to attack during the time she was making contact with the satellite, so it was planned during recent tactical meetings of the command crew, the skies would be patrolled for nearby or inbound threats.

Mission planning called for him to launch first off to the skies at dawn (reminiscent of the first combat missions done by the pioneers in military aviation in the industrial pre-Cosmic Era times), with _Taisa_ La Flaga as primary backup, and Kira and Dearka as close in support for the _Archangel_ in case of attack. Athrun argued to have Shinn in the rotation, but the _Taisa_ and Ramius-_Kanchou_ had misgivings about having someone who was still harboring hostile feelings towards their crew access to a powerful mobile weapon even when the safety of the ship and crew depended on it. Athrun lobbied strongly to give Shinn a chance, given the fact it was in their original plan in recruiting Shinn to let him fly the Destiny Phoenix if he wanted too, but at first it looked like he was going to be overruled by the senior officers.

Fortunately, for him, Kira voiced support for his plan when he was asked. His best friend opined that it would be better for them to trust Shinn with the Destiny Phoenix in case the situation was dire; what's the use of not utilizing all of their tactical options at the point when all options should be used to protect the ship? Kira said that if Athrun trusted the former ZAFT ace to be able to work with them, then he could trust him as well, since he really didn't have anything against Shinn in first place. Kira technically outranked everyone on the _Archangel_ (he was a general officer by rank), but Athrun knew Kira would never resort to pulling rank unless he was really needed to. But Athrun wouldn't take it away from him to use subtle yet firm persuasion to get others to see his opinions and suggestions as viable. It also helped the Lacus immediately sided with Athrun and Kira when her vote was asked, even if uncharacteristically she didn't say anything much in the discussion.

So in the end, the two _Taisas_ relented to his request. As a concession, Athrun agreed to put Shinn in as the final reserve, ready to launch when things were dire as a fresh relief unit. The Destiny Phoenix was slated to be ready for take off five minutes after Kira and Dearka, and would be under direct command of Athrun.

_If, by some miracle, I could convince Shinn to fly that thing_, Athrun thought. He'd been trying to persuade the red-eyed pilot to take on that responsibility, knowing that he was the best and only one suited for the job. He tried all manners of persuasion; from direct and succinct requests to a little more, subtle hinting, but Shinn shrugged them off unanswered. Athrun would have given up on Shinn long ago, had it not for Shinn's neutral way of keeping the request hanging without any hostile reactions, or the his continued diligence in tinkering with the Destiny Phoenix with Murdoch-_san_ and the tech crews. Athrun knew that Shinn wasn't one of those pilots whose zest for working maintenance on their mobile suits bordered on obsession, to the point of eating or sleeping inside them on occasion (Kira, from what Athrun heard, was a case in point), but the attention Shinn was giving to the Destiny Phoenix indicated his interest in it, maybe even allowing himself to fly it, even though pride wouldn't let him say out loud that he was giving in to Athrun's persuasions.

Maybe miracles do happen.

Athrun cleared his mind as he felt the legs of the Infinite Justice slide into place over the massive launch catapults. The blast doors closed behind him, the massive ferro-composite metal slab that was the blast shield slid up right at the back of the mobile suit to absorb any explosive force that might be released with the catapult's firing and the mobile suit's acceleration He saw that the gigantic launch bay doors opened out to the darkness outside, and launch bay lights illuminated the launch bay in front of him.

Athrun spooled up the power flow from the nuclear reactor, and raised the throttles to the setting that would allow the mobile suit enough thrust to accelerate in speed and climb away from the _Archangel_ safely. The mobile suit's engines increased power angrily, with exhaust gases forming ripples around the thrust vents of the Fatum-01 lifter. He made one last check of his systems, and saw that everything was in order. He sat back and flexed his hands on the controls, and waited for Meyrin's final checks, which came over the PA seconds later.

"_Systems all green. X-One-Niner-Alpha. You are cleared for launch. Be careful out there, Athrun-san"_

Athrun exhaled. He was ready. "X-One-Niner-Alpha confirms, CIC. Athrun Zala, Infinite Justice. Launching!"

* * *

Murrue felt the starboard side shake briefly as the Infinite Justice roared out in a trail of exhaust smoke out of launch bay one. The burgundy mobile suit crested upwards and away from the _Archangel_, and performed a barrel roll as it accelerated away into the dark skies. Seconds later she heard the loud BOOM and soon felt the shockwave as Athrun's mobile suit broke through the sound barrier. Only the reinforced glass of the viewport of the bridge kept it from breaking apart from the impact of the shockwave, which passed through the ship in a manner of seconds. Soon all that Murrue could see of the Infinite Justice was a small blur of black, as it gradually disappeared into the weather front to the southeast.

Meyrin's voice came flooding out of the CIC. "Infinite Justice is away, _Kanchou_. Heading two-three-four at Mach two-point-two, height of eight thousand and climbing. Athrun-_san_'s now on his way to waypoint one on his patrol course."

Murrue nodded. "Very well, CIC. Mr. Chandra, do we have a fix on the satellite?"

"Confirmed, _Kanchou_. The satellite is just entering the grid and slowing. It will be overhead for the next twenty-one minutes, thirteen seconds. It's now within the transmission window."

"Lacus-_san_, you may begin transmission."

"_Hai_," answered the pink-haired Coordinator from her communications seat to rear left of Murrue. Lacus began inputting a sequence of commands on her terminal, opening a secure link with the orbiting satellite with a ultra high frequency laser mounted on one of the antennae on the top of the bridge tower. The pulse traveled the two hundred miles between the _Archangel_ and the satellite in a matter of milliseconds, and data transfer between both began. Terabytes of data was sent and accepted, in a seemingly uninterrupted and secure flow that lasted a quarter of a minute. It looked normal to Lacus, the transmission normal and without hitches, that there was no reason for her and the _Archangel_ to worry about a problem as the transmission ended. Nothing seemed wrong.

But things went wrong as soon as the transmission began.

* * *

Unknown to the _Archangel_ crew, the transmission protocol was already compromised from the start. Under the command from his handler, the agent had already instigated a high-tech plan to sabotage their mission, activating as soon as the laser transmission began. The agent had installed a 'ghost' program, a small and almost undetectable software, comprising of a few lines of advanced programming, through access to the _Archangel's_ network.

The ghost was activated as soon as the first transmission to the satellite was attempted, which sent an additional command to the satellite to perform an additional task as the transfer was attempted, another ghost that was installed unto the satellite during one of its remote system updates. As the data transfer progressed between the ship and the orbiter, another laser transmission on a very secure frequency that was virtually undetectable from the _Archangel's_ sensors, was sent to a location close to the _Archangel_. The transmission only comprised of a few lines of data, Making it short and almost instantaneous. But the information it sent was of vital importance to those nearby; their very mission to thwart the _Archangel_ depended on this critical part of their operation.

"_Kanchou_, we have a signal outbound from the beacon. The signature indicates it's pulsing from a UHF laser transmission outbound to the Orb communications satellite. It's coming from grid 23-40, one hundred twenty-two miles north by northeast of us."

The captain of the mobile suit carrier submarine _Piranha_ nodded wordlessly. The "ghosts" their agent uploaded unto the _Archangel's_ network and the satellite worked perfectly. The outbound signal, normally almost undetectable, had succeeded in warning them of the carrier's location. It looked like the effort to place such a high-ranking traitor within the midst of the Orb forces was bearing fruit for their cause. It was now up to them to complete their mission, which was to destroy that ship before it completed its mission to search for their organization's base. The _Archangel_ was lucky to survive when the _Enforcer_ ambushed them in Earth' gravity that the _Minerva_ arrived to save them, but now they were alone and without support. This time, the _Piranha_ will finish them. "Begin operations. Come around to a heading of three hundred. Surface the ship, and begin launch operations. We've got them where we want them."

His crew began to work. It took several minutes to complete, before the massive bow of _Barracuda_-class submersible carrier surfaced angrily above the rough waves of the South Pacific. The _Piranha_ was a more advanced version of the military submarines the OMNI Enforcer first deployed in the First Bloody Valentine War. Based on the transport submarines used by the Earth Forces, the _Piranha_ and its sister ship was almost twice the size of its predecessor; this enabled the ships to perform its primary mission; to be a mobile suit carrier. The larger and heavily modified hull led to a more spacious interior, which was designed so that the submarine could carry and launch twelve mobile suits from twelve vertical catapults, plus two more underwater launch bays carried to submersible mobile suits for underwater combat. The twelve vertical launch bays was the core of the design, and everything about the submarine was built around this system.

The design of the ship, however, precluded the fact that the _Barracuda_-class was not designed to fight as a conventional attack submarine. It relied on its mobile suit complement and advance stealth capabilities for its defenses. An innovation that was introduced to the design was the incorporation of a Geschmeidig Panzer system as both a propulsion system and sonar-defeating stealth defense. The _Piranha_ used the GP system as a propulsion unit for fast maneuvering and underwater speed, primarily in deep water under the thermal layer, using it for fast travel and quick escapes, when stealth was unnecessary. As an active stealth system the GP was also effective, as shown during the _Piranha's_ participation in the Onogoro raid. A long ranged active sonar scan from a nearby ZAFT _Vosgulov_-class submarine was dispersed and absorbed by the Geschmeidig Panzer, allowing her to escape from detection and withdraw from the area. The _Piranha's_ captain was relying on these systems once more to successfully complete their ambush, and escape safely towards their base in the South American coast.

But now it was time to begin their attack. Time to strike a mortal blow to those who would dare seek them out and stop their crusade. "Commence operation. Launch the attack squadron."

Twelve concealed blast doors opened out of the main deck of the _Piranha_, in two rows of six doors each. From the depths of the doors slid out two magnetic catapults, similar to the design the ZAFT forces used. Between the powerful flow of magnetic fields, twelve black Wraith-class mobile suits shot out into the sky. They sped upwards, increasing in speed as the distance between them and the ship widened.

The squadron reached the dark clouds of the storm system, and fought the strong winds and heavy rains as they formed a solid line and headed northeast. The Wraiths struggled to keep formation in the violent gusts, but sheer power of the mobile suits won over Nature in this fight. The black mobile suits proceeded with supersonic speeds towards their target, use speed rather than stealth to cover their approach; the mirrage colloid stealth systems' effectiveness decreased in the violent storm, relying on the electromagnetic disturbances of the storm clouds to mask their attack from the _Archangel's_ sensors. For the first forty miles they traveled they were successful, and it looked like they were going to be undetected all the way.

But once more, Fate was going to play her trump card for this battle, turning the balance into chaos.

* * *

Athrun had just passed his fourth waypoint on his patrol; the Infinite Justice was cruising above the storm clouds at thirty-five thousand feet. He was close to operation ceiling of the mobile suit, and he was flying at a speed close to Mach three. He was not having a good time scanning the skies around him; the storm system was wreaking havoc on his sensors and most of the time he was relying on his naked eye to spot for threats. It wasn't a great day to fly; he was struggling to keep the Infinite Justice flying stable in the strong and violent winds of the storm. Only the fly by wire avionics was keeping the mobile suit aloft, but still it struggled in the strong winds. Athrun check his chronometer, and figured that the planned contact with the satellite would be complete by now; all he had to do was complete his patrol and head back, so that he could land and the ship could submerge to the safety of the depths of the ocean once more.

He was now to the southwest of the ship, about seventy miles from the _Archangel_, when he first something odd. He first thought that his eyes were playing tricks on him, the product of his weariness on this exhausting flight. He saw black dots seemingly moving across the storm, cloud hopping on its upper edges. He first thought that they were something natural, but it looked too much of a natural thing to just shrug off. He slowly dropped altitude to get a better look. Athrun was closing on them; about twenty miles off.

Athrun could now see the black shapes formed in a line, and moving in a direction that would take them very close to _Archangel_. He moved closer, hoping to get a good look at them and get a clear identification. But the black shapes broke formation, one group of six continuing on its southwesterly path, the other half forming a rough circle and climbing up towards him.

Athrun realized that they were a threat, with their aggressive maneuvering to close with him. But he also knew that they were also a threat to the _Archangel _now, with one group heading their way. As per training he sent forth one of the preset emergency messages back to the ship. The message automatically included his current position, and Athrun hoped that the rest of his friends could act on his message quickly.

Because the black raiders were here all along and were waiting for them.

* * *

"_Kanchou_!"

Murrue turned quickly at Meyrin's sudden cry. "What is it?"

"It's the Infinite Justice," the red-haired CIC officer said breathlessly. "It just sent in a preset message. It reads _'Detected unidentified mobile suits at grid twenty-thirty-five, heading for your direction'_. It gives the last GPS position of the mobile suits at seventy-three miles to the southwest, at a bearing of two-zero-five."

_Dammit!_ "Lacus-_san_, give the order for Level One battle stations." Murrue listened as Lacus began declaring the higher level alert to on the PA. Seeing that taken cared off, Murrue began giving orders to the rest of the bridge crew. "Neumann-_san_, turn the ship into the wind. Meyrin-_kun_, ready the plus-five mobile suits for launch, and try to raise Athrun. Ensign Pal, prepare for anti-mobile suit combat."

* * *

Athrun swore to himself as he angled the Justice away from the incoming bandits. He was outnumbered six to one, and fighting in the middle of a typhoon wasn't making things easier for him. But it didn't make things any easier for raiders too, as they were struggling to fly in this weather as he was. Athrun studied his chances, and figured that he could make it through this fight with some fancy footwork and luck on his part. _And I'm gonna need all the luck I can get or I'm not going home_.

Two raiders split from the other four, and charged towards Athrun, beam sabers deployed. The other four kept in formation, firing missiles and rail guns in support for afar. Athrun juked and jinked in random patterns to avoid their barrage, but the erratic maneuvering allowed the two lead raiders to close with him. He activated countermeasures, leaving it to the Justice's main computer to automatically deploy them to in its defense.

The first one slashed down, aiming for the Justice's right lifter wing. Athrun pulled back hard on the stick, and the burgundy mobile suit just edged away from the deadly slice of the beam. The second tried a forward thrust of the saber, hoping to impale Athrun just below the cockpit. With quick reflexes born from his Coordinator genes, Athrun brought up the left leg, and used it to block the thrust with the beam blade mounted on it, which he activated on the last second.

Athrun veered of to his left then gunned the engines to create distance between himself and his two nearby opponents. But another barrage from the four supporting raiders cut off his planned escape route, and Athrun barely had the time to bring his lightwave beam barrier shield to block two missiles that bore down on him.

The sudden explosions rocked the Justice, and the smoke blocked the view on his main screens momentarily. Knowing that the raiders would exploit his momentary weakness, Athrun slammed down hard on his thruster pedals. The lifter slid down from its upright position in the Justice's back, and its main thrusters flared. The Justice screamed upwards, as cleared the fireball just as four green beams lanced through it.

Athrun banked hard to his left, taking the Justice towards the east. He had gained some distance and altitude from the raiders, and he fully intended to squeeze every ounce from this momentary advantage. He struggled to do barrel rolls and other random evasive maneuvers, as the deadly fire blanketed the airspace around him. Athrun knew he couldn't stand this much longer; he was totally in the defensive, and couldn't even get into any position to return fire. He needed help and he needed it fast. But knowing that threats were also headed for the _Archangel_, Athrun wasn't relying too much on reinforcements to come to his aid.

_I just hope they can fight off the other raiders quick enough to help me out in this situation or it will be the end for me.

* * *

_

"Mr. Chandra, do you have anything on your screens from the last position of Athrun-_kun_ and the Infinite Justice?" Murrue asked, worried about the young Coordinator's current situation.

"Negative," came his reply. "There's too much interference from the storm system that I can't get a clear look. Nothing on the sonar too, _Kanchou_."

"Keep working on it. We'll assume they've found us and are bearing down on our position."

The main vidscreen that hung above the forward viewpoint of the bridge came to life with Mu's helmeted face. "Hey, what the hell is going on?"

Murrue gave him a worried look. "Athrun-_kun_ encountered mobile suits heading our way. We haven't made in contact with him yet and I have to assume the worst." Murrue felt her insides constrict. "We need to get you up to look for him. I'll have Kira and Dearka cover the ship. Bring Athrun-_kun_ back."

"On my own?" Mu asked with a raised eyebrow, which Murrue answered with a wordless nod. "I guess I have to make the impossible possible _again_. I need –", Mu's words were cut when Shinn's face, apparently coming from the Destiny Phoenix's cockpit, took half of the screen.

"Let me go out too. The Phoenix's ready. Let me go get Athrun-_san_," said Shinn.

Murrue was taken aback with surprise and momentarily speechless by Shinn's sudden request. "I-I don't know, Shinn-_kun_."

The red eyes of the Coordinator hardened. "I'm already inside the cockpit and prepped for launch. Put me up with Neo here. Let Yamato help Dearka-_san_ cover the ship. He's not here yet. I'm ready to go _now_."

"But-"

Kira's face joined the ones on the vidscreen. It looked like he was still at the pilot's ready room, getting into his flight suit as fast as he could. "Shinn's right, Murrue-_san_," he said. "He's in a position to go out ahead of me." Murrue saw Shinn's hardened features grow more pronounced with anger and irritation.

Murrue sighed. She had to make a decision, and quick. Time was of the essence and Athrun's life probably depended on it. "Very well. Shinn, go with Mu. But you're under his command okay?" she added before Shinn could complain.

"_Hai_," came his neutral reply, before Shinn cut the line to the bridge. Murrue turned to Mu for her final instructions. "Find Athrun-_kun_ and get him back here. We'll wait for you at checkpoint November. Don't let the mobile suits follow you back. And keep an eye on Shinn. We're in enough of trouble as it is, and we don't need more. Be careful out there, okay?"

"Got that," Mu acknowledged with a slight grin. "Akatsuki out."

Murrue faced Kira once more. "Don't worry Murrue-_san_. Everything will be fine," Kira said in his very calm, very wise sounding voice that belied some his own doubts.

Murrue looked straight unto the purple eyes of the Coordinator. "Let's just hope you're right about that, Kira-_kun_. For _all_ our sakes."

* * *

_Generation_

_Unsubdued_

_Nuclear_

_Drive_

_Assault_

_Module _

_(G.U.N.D.A.M) Complex_

_  
Series SD101-O9 DP 02-34143_

_Z.A.F.T._

_System Online_

Shinn locked his helmet into place, the seals on the collar of his yellow and red Orb flight suit hissing, indicating the suit was now sealed and pressurized. He fired up the nuclear reactor, and power flowed into the various systems of the mobile suit. Indicators came to life, as displays and indicators erupted in different colors. The main viewport and HUD also opened up, and Shinn could now get a good view of the hanger bay. Shinn tested his control sticks, which flexed slightly the arm actuators, which Shinn found to be smooth and responsive to his actions. He was confident that the mobile suit would function properly and efficiently; the tinkering he did on it and the operating system had brought it to full combat readiness. All that he needed to do now was to pilot it effectively.

Shinn pondered if he had made the right choice. By going out into battle he was accepting the responsibilities thrust upon him when he volunteered for this mission. Deep inside he was still harboring ill feelings about the situation he was in; his hatred for Kira Yamato and the _Archangel_ crew was still eating at him, albeit that a large part of the bitterness was slowly fading away.

He wanted to stay out of this fight; he was willing to wade out the battle and leave his safety to the Terminal members. Surely the _Archangel_ could fight the raiders off; the entire crew was veterans of two wars and considered elite in the field of battle, and even Shinn could agree with that. But he felt _he_ had to do something. It was there, the chance to act on his terms. He could take the controls of a mobile suit and be a factor in the coming battle, not because it was his _destiny_, but because he chose to fight for what he wanted, what he _believed_.

And lives were at stake. It wasn't that he had to protect these people, the ones he once called his enemies, but now were doing everything to accept him within their ranks, because they may have seen something in him that even Shinn never realized he had. And now they were risking themselves for a cause Shinn knew was right, even though the pain of old emotional wounds were still holding him back.

Those he chose to hate were reaching out to him, regardless if Shinn wanted them in pain, or worse, dead. Neo Lorrnoke had approached him a few times during the submerged run to this area of the ocean, trying to start small, albeit awkward conversations with him. He was trying to look out for him, probably much like the concern he gave for Solar when she was under his command. The man was probably doing this as a way to ask for Shinn's forgiveness for Stellar, but Shinn wasn't sure of that, and didn't really care.

Kira Yamato was also around; Shinn always noticed him watching him from afar, though the brown-haired Coordinator never really talked to him. He seemed to be studying him, assessing him as one would assess a potential ally or co-worker. Sometimes Shinn wanted to confront him and lash out, but Shinn kept his anger in check. He felt that their last encounter was enough, when Shinn first saw the Destiny Phoenix once more. Surprisingly, in the very rare times Shinn sat in on the meetings of the command crew, he was (though he would never admit it other than to himself) finding himself agreeing with the ideas and policies that Yamato was espousing, and was curious and amazed that Yamato always agreed with him in the very rare times Shinn shared something in the meetings.

And then there was Athrun. The one person Shinn could respect, because for all that had happened between in the Second War, since the time he returned to the Minerva and became Shinn's commander, Athrun was the one person who didn't give up on him, even when Shinn purposely gave him a real hard time. Even when they met as enemies late in the war, Athrun never gave up on him, bringing him back from madness as when he almost attacked Lunamaria with the old Destiny's Palmina Focina. And in the process of saving her, Athrun saved Shinn.

And now Athrun was in the thick of the fight, fighting for those he wanted to protect, and Shinn had to admit to himself, he was one of them.

Shinn couldn't let a friend like that die.

One of his overheard MFDs came to life, and a helmeted Neo spoke out from it. "Are you ready, Shinn-_san_?"

Shinn didn't spare the older man a glance. "I'm ready."

"Good luck then. I'll see you up in the air." Neo shut off his line as the doors to launch bay one closed, taking the golden ORB-01 Akatsuki away from Shinn's view. Shinn felt the Destiny Phoenix sway, as its cradle gantry slowly slid towards the blast doors of the portside launch bay two. He heard Meyrin's voice, doing her role as CIC, as she guided him in the pre-launch preparations for the Phoenix.

"_Commencing Destiny Phoenix launch sequence. Opening bay doors to launch bay two."_

The massive blast doors of launch bay two opened, and the gantry positioned the mobile suit's feet over the catapult. Shinn secured the straps of his safety belts, and readied himself for the drop of the mobile suit

"_Safety locks released. Catapult connected."_

Shinn's stomach lurched slightly as the feet of the mobile suit landed hard on the catapult, and heard the hissing of the securing locks grabbed the feet of the Phoenix solidly.

"_Blast doors securing. Launch bay doors opening. Catapult track clear."_

The blast doors closed behind the Phoenix, as the massive launch bay hatch opened up to space.

"Weight to power ratio computation complete. Catapult power optimized. APU online."

Power output from the reactor increased, and additional power from the auxiliary power unit was coursed for the catapult's use. The main thrusters in between the Wings of Light flared angrily, as Shinn increased the throttle to max power.

"_Course clear. Systems, all green. X-Four-Three-Alpha, you are cleared for launch," _Meyrin finally said. _"Good luck Shinn." _

The catapult status indicator flashed the ready signal.

For Shinn, it was time to return to skies. To his chosen path, not his predetermined destiny.

"Shinn Asuka, Destiny Phoenix. Taking off!"

Shinn felt himself slammed into his seat at the Phoenix hurtled out of the cockpit with amazing speed, clearing the exit in less than three seconds. Immediately after clearing the edge of the launch bay tunnel, Shinn pulled up, adding more speed to his ascent by pushing down incrementally on his thruster pedals.

As soon as he was at a safe distance from the _Archangel_, Shinn reached out to control console and activated the phase-shift armor of the mobile suit. The "Phase Shift Up" indicator on his HUD flashed, as the Phoenix changed from its uniform gray color to its red, white and blue scheme, as the advanced anti-projectile protection system enveloped the mobile suit.

Shinn began to scan the nearby area for flying bogies, and found nothing except for the Akatsuki, which flew a little higher than him, lightning flashes from the horizon reflecting on its ultra-polished gold surfaces. He brought the Phoenix to fly side by side with the ORB command suit, and opened a link with its pilot.

"We're heading south-southwest; that's the bearing of a probable group of raiders heading for the ship," Neo was saying. They were cruising at an altitude of twenty-thousand feet now, traveling two and half times faster than the speed of sound, on a heading that would put them on a collision course with any bandits that were headed for the ship, and both pilots were scanning the skies and their sensors for their presence. It was a basic fact in warfare that the side that finds the enemy first will have a decisive tactical advantage, and it applied in the same way for aerial combat, where detection was of vital importance given the extreme conditions combat was fought.

Two minutes later they found them, six black mobile suits flying through the clouds in two wedge formations, about a thousand feet below them and to the south. Or more like the raiders found them, as they were already heading for the Akatsuki and Phoenix, and were breaking up into three groups of two. Shinn was about to veer the Phoenix towards them, but the sudden appearance on his vidscreen of and order from Neo stop him from performing his maneuver.

"I'll distract them. You go find Athrun and bring him back."

"But-"

Neo glared at him. "There's no time to argue about this, Asuka. Athrun is in trouble and he needs your help. Go!"

Cursing to himself, realizing that Neo was right, Shinn turned of his link with the team commander without acknowledging his command. But he pulled the Phoenix hard to climb higher, and increased its speed to get away from the raiders, continuing on the direction that would take him to Athrun's last known position. He hoped he could reach him in time, the same time wishing Neo all the luck in fending off the rest.

* * *

Mu was pleased that Shinn did what he ordered him to do, even though the red-eyed Coordinator didn't even respond to his order. He knew he could count on Shinn to find Athrun, given his knowledge and confidence on the young man's confidence. He prayed both of them could survive their fight long enough for him and the _Archangel_ to come to their support.

If he and the ship can survive the rest of the raiders.

The six that were bearing down on them started to react to Shinn's attempt to break off, with two of them angling in the Phoenix's direction to give chase. Mu had to stop them, and turned the Akatsuki to intercept. The other four tracked his movements, and Mu soon heard the warning signal blared out from the speakers on his jump seat, indicating that he had been locked on by a missile target acquisition system.

Mu risked a glance at his six, and saw the flash and smoke that indicated the launch of multiple anti-mobile suit missiles targeted at him. Mu was afraid of missiles out of everything the raiders could throw at him; even though the Akatsuki could reflect or block beam weapons at whim with its Yata No Kagami anti-beam coating, the mobile suit did not have Phase Armor technology, leaving it extremely vulnerable to conventional weapons like missiles.

He cut to his left, going multi-Mach in the process. The battle computer of the Akatsuki responded automatically to the threats, electronic counter measures and decoys deploying to hamper their attack. Several explosions indicated success, and Mu could also see some of the heat seekers fly aimlessly as the lost their target.

Deciding that he had to slow down Shinn's pursuers to give him a better chance to rescue Athrun, Mu fired at the two with his longest ranged weapons, the two Type 73F Kai beam cannons on the Oowashi atmospheric flight pack. Both cannons swung forward underneath the Akatsuki's arms, and erupted in a pair of deadly pulses. The twin beams lanced between the two black raiders, which momentarily stalled their pursuit by forcing them to evade the deadly onslaught.

The two pursuing Shinn broke off their chase, and instead decided that he was the more immediate threat. The crisscrossed each other to keep themselves a hard target for Mu to get a good lock, but Mu countered by another energy volley from the beam cannons, which scattered the two black mobile suits in different directions.

Mu wanted to press his sudden advantage, but the other four raiders were making life hard for him. Two crossed in between him and his targets, and Mu had to throttle back to avoid four supersonic slugs from the raider's rail guns. The other two flew in to outflank him from the rear, but Mu countered the move flying parallel to their course.

The lead flanker made a sudden change of direction, and cut across his path from the rear. The flanker was pushing hard, and launched two missiles as it rolled towards him. Mu peppered the incoming weapons with a barrage from his head mounted machine guns, which exploded the missiles four hundred meters away. Mu loosed two shots from his Type 72D5 Hyakurai beam rifle, but the flanker had already dodged away.

The second flanker had closed the gap between them, and was angling to fire at Mu's left. The raider fired four quick blasts with its beam rifle, which Mu judged as a big mistake on the part of his opponent. Mu turned the Akatsuki into the incoming fire, and then slammed the mobile suit into a hard acceleration of supersonic speeds. The beam struck the Akatsuki squarely on its head and shoulders, but the anti-beam coating absorbed the energy, dispersing them harmlessly.

Mu locked onto the second flanker, which could not react quickly to his charging run, and in seconds the sound of a positive lock greeted him satisfactorily. He thumbed his primary triggers, and the Akatsuki sent multiple green beams all around the raider. The black mobile suit moved in random directions, and blocked a few shots with its lightwave beam barrier. But two beams penetrated the defenses, one coring into the right hip of the raider, the other melting away half of its head.

Seeing a chance to finish him off, Mu went aggressively for the second flanker, but forgot about the first. It was coming towards his right, and Mu took sudden notice of it when the alarm signal went off again. Mu tried to evade, but it was too late. A hypervelocity slug slammed hard unto the Akatsuki, tearing off one of the Kai beam cannons, and punched a hole through the right wing of the flight pack.

An explosion rocked the Akatsuki's cockpit, as a small fire began above Mu, as overhead paneling were ripped from its connections and wires blew up in sparks and flashes. Mu was momentarily blinded and deaf from the blast, and lost his bearings. His disorientation multiplied as he felt the mobile suit roll and tumble uncontrolled, and from the viewport Mu dizzily saw the horizon spiraling.

Struggling to regain control, Mu pulled with all of his might on the control stick. The Akatsuki had lost is level flight and was losing altitude fast. Multiple alarms were now blaring all at the same time, as different systems were shutting down or malfunctioning. However hard he tried, the engines wouldn't respond to his controls, and he couldn't stabilize the Akatsuki's rapid descent.

He saw a glimpse of the fast moving raiders regrouping, the four continuing to head towards the direction of the _Archangel_, and two going after Shinn once more. Mu despaired at his failure to stop them, and prayed that Murrue and others could survive their raid. He could see the blue ocean become larger and larger, as the Akatsuki plummeted from the heavens covered by the dark storm, with Death beckoning Mu unto its dark arms.

The Akatsuki struck the water, the pull of gravity increasing its descent velocity, raising a geyser four times the height of the mobile suit, as Mu let himself be wrapped by that enveloped him in a cold embrace.

* * *

Shinn glanced back in the direction of where the Akatsuki was battling the second wave of raiders. He took note that his two pursuers had given up their attempt to chase and went back after the golden mobile suit. He wanted to turn back and help the former Phantom Pain commander, but he had his orders and he needed to help Athrun.

The Phoenix climbed higher, above the dark cloud cover. The skies were calmer up here, but Shinn could still see ionized lightning strikes firing through the storm. The eye of the typhoon was to his north, away from the battle. Athrun's last position placed him about thirty miles to the southwest, and Shinn burned hard to get there.

Two minutes later he was loitering in the airspace where Athrun sent his warning. Shinn saw nothing on his sights and sensors, and worried that Athrun was already lost, but green flashes off to his east gave him hope, since the flashes were the unmistakable evidence of beam fire from mobile suits.

Shinn turned towards the ongoing battle, and soon saw six black mobile suits giving chase and firing continuously at a lone burgundy mobile suit, which ably evading their heavy attacks. Shinn was relieved that Athrun was still alive, but in the same time assessed the capabilities of the enemy. If Athrun, one of the best pilots Shinn had ever encountered in his military career, was having trouble with them, then they were formidable opponents at the very least. Granted that they outnumbered Athrun six-to-one, but Shinn knew that those numbers were not a problem for an elite warrior like Athrun Zala.

Shinn did, however, notice a fact about the battle that he realized he could exploit as an advantage: for some reason, he had not seen the enemy attack cloaked. Whether the storm conditions in atmosphere were hampering their mirrage colloid systems, Shinn wasn't sure. But Shinn knew he could use that fact to fight the raiders effectively.

Shinn implemented his plan of attack, climbing higher but in same time coming around to put him behind the raiders. The Phoenix spread its red wings, and light red energy screen blossomed out of the Wings of Light's projectors. The light spread out, forming a red mirage in the form of gigantic bird wings, in a form like that of the legendary namesake of the mobile suit. The energy wings stretched almost a thousand meters, its shining light defeating the darkness of the clouds.

Shinn began to descend on the enemy, the Phoenix drawing one of its "Damocles" beam swords on its left hand, and its MA-M1911 beam rifle on its right. Shinn locked onto the lead raider, and sent green energy pulsating towards it. Two beams caught the raider on its wings, which were sheared off, making the raider fall helplessly unto the darkened ocean.

The other five scattered - two of them reorienting themselves to face Shinn. The Infinite Justice also changed direction, as Shinn saw that Athrun had finally noticed that he had an ally in the fight. "Nice of you to drop by," Athrun's voice came over the communications network.

"No time to stop and chat, Zala. Come around to my left and give me cover."

"Wilco," Athrun replied. The Infinite Justice was now circling around to Shinn's nine o'clock position, angling to put down fire on the remaining five raiders. Shinn went on another power dive, this time bearing down on the trailing black suit. The enemy was trying to fight back, beam crisscrossing pass the Phoenix, but the Wings of Light was interfering with the raider's targeting to make any hit on Shinn's mobile suit.

Shinn reached the trailer, and slashed inward with the beam sword on his left. The ruby blade made contact with the raider's beam barrier shield, which blocked the blade from slicing off the arm that held it. But the momentum and force of Shinn's slash knocked the raider back, and Shinn followed up with another thrust that cut off both of the raider's shoulder mounted rail cannons. The damage raider backed off, its pilot clearly assessing the damage Shinn did to his mobile suit and trying to regroup for its next strike

The Infinite Justice had also returned to the fight, Athrun beginning his counterattacks against the lone raider that stayed focused on him. Shinn watch as Athrun maneuvered deftly against the black suit, using the Justice's agility to draw a favorable position against its formidable opponent. The Justice drew both of its sabers at once, connecting both and forming one long, two-sided saber that Athrun liked to fight with. With a barrel roll the Justice began its attack, running headlong towards the raider, who had its own beam saber out, plus the lightwave barrier for defense.

The Justice continued its direct charge, before spinning at the last moment. Athrun made his mobile suit pirouette in midair, cleanly avoid the downward slash of raider's saber. As the Justice completed its three hundred sixty degree spin, the Justice struck out with the double saber, with on of its beams connecting with the raider's rear. The entire right of the raider was caught in the strike, and the wings and shoulders were sliced off. The raider was doomed, and its fate was sealed when Athrun kicked out with his left leg, the beam blade mounted there cut both of the raider legs from the body.

The raider that Shinn was fighting approached him once more in a zigzagging action, avoiding the automated fire from the Phoenix's close-in weapons system. The twelve point seven millimeter armor piercing sabot rounds impacted upon the lightwave barrier mounted on the left hand of the raider, but the energy shield took in the force of the high-explosive projectiles, without affecting the raider's approached.

The raider slashed at the Phoenix, but Shinn deftly blocked with his own drawn sword. Both blades collided several times as both combatants exchanged blows that were blocked and parried with equal skill. The fight looked to be a stalemate, but the raider gained an advantage when it skillfully returned a quick counterattack after it parried another slash from Shinn. The raider caught Shinn with his guard down, and hit the Phoenix right in the middle of the left forearm.

The severed arm went flying, taking with it the Damocles sword. The raider thought he had Shinn on the ropes, and tried to deliver his coup de grace – a forward stab at Shinn's cockpit with the beam saber. But Shinn was ready, and caught the saber hand of the raider with his right. At first it seemed that the raider could push against the Phoenix's grip, with the thrusters of the black suit flaming as it went to maximum military power, but the raider's hand exploded and was left burning and destroyed as the hand collapsed under the shining glow of the Palmina Focina hand beam.

Shinn thrust and buried the Palmina Focina down into the chest of the raider, and the high energy melted through the armor plating of the black mobile suit. The cockpit area was exposed, and the pilot inside was burned to a crisp from the extreme heat and energy of the deadly beam. The mortally injured mobile suit slid from the Phoenix's hand, and dropped lifeless towards the ocean. The dead mobile suit exploded after free falling a thousand feet, debris flying in all directions in rails of flames.

The other raiders saw the death of three of their comrades and began to take on new tactics to deal with the double threat of the Phoenix and Justice. They quickly joined up in close formation, and turned to concentrate their attacks on the Phoenix. Shinn dodged left and right as he avoided the withering fire of green energy beams, and his CIWS worked close to overheating, targeting multiple missiles that were volley at his direction. Several explosions heralded the death of the guided weapons, and Shinn used them as cover as he tried to break away from the raiders. The black suits charged through the dissipating fireballs like raging bulls, and continued their vengeful pursuit. Shinn rechecked his options, and found that he was running out of them.

"Shinn, draw them to your right, then drop altitude quickly," came Athrun's voice. The Justice was now a little ways from him, at a point in the sky were it had an open shot at the enemy. Shinn studied Athrun's maneuver, and figured out what he intended to do. Shinn flew hard to his right, the black mobile suits in hot pursuit. He egged them along, flying several miles before dropping down suddenly. The black mobile suits could not follow his movement, passing the point Shinn was before and suddenly gone from.

"Now, Athrun!" Shinn shouted over the tacnet.

The Infinite Justice stopped in the air, hovering and tracking the movement of the three mobile suits as they vainly tried to go after the Phoenix. The Fatum-01 lifter twisted ninety degrees up, and the twin Hyper Fortis beam cannons adjusted their aim towards the raiders. The M1911 rifle went up to, tracking a third raider in its sights. The three main ranged weapons of the Infinite Justice erupted in deadly fire all at the same time, and the red and green beams lanced with a vengeance at its three targets, as Athrun completed his devastating Blitzkrieg attack. The three beams reached their targets within a second, and three gigantic fireballs erupted around them, breathing fire and light in the heavy rain.

Shinn stopped to watch the midair explosions die out, expecting to see debris from the doomed mobile suits fall from the sky. But in his horror he saw the glimmering aura of three lightwave beam barriers shining in the darkness, as the three black shapes that crouched behind them stretched out to show their defiance to the Infinite Justice's attempt to eliminate them. And to compound his problems, two more raiders were coming from the northeast, indicating to Shinn that Neo had failed and the raiders had eventually overpowered him.

* * *

Murrue was getting worried. She already had that bad feeling as she watched Mu and Shinn lift off several minutes ago. They still had not sent word, and it was getting to long a time for Murrue to be in the blind. But Murrue had not been complacent. Immediately after the Akatsuki and the Phoenix disappeared into the horizon, she began to deploy the ship for battle. She kept the _Archangel_ in a course that sent into the wind, and had ordered the Corinthos launchers armed with sulfur canister missiles to counteract their mirrage colloid defenses, plus air-to-air ones for the Wombat launchers. She had also ordered the GAT-X103 Buster out, and Dearka was now standing on the main deck above the primary cargo bay of the ship. The ZAFT officer was now scanning the skies, his mobile suit locked and loaded with both its rifles deployed and ready to fire.

Dearka was now reporting in. "There's nothing out there as far as I can see, _Kanchou_. No sign of bogies or the others."

"Keep your eyes open, Dearka-_kun_," said Murrue. "We'll be going under cover as soon as the battle begins, so you may have to rely on your thermals."

"Copy that, _Archangel_. I'm gonna shift my – Wait! I got movement coming from the southwest horizon," Dearka said excitedly. 'Four dots bearing in at two-four-five!"

Murrue spun at her sensors station. "Mr. Chandra!"

"Confirmed, _Kanchou_. Bogies are at a distance of twenty-four miles, closing in at a speed of Mach one-point-nine. I could barely see them on the thermals."

"Mr. Pal, cover the ship with smoke! Then fire a round of canister missiles and Helldarts! Battle stations everyone!"

* * *

Dearka tracked the bogies with his with his thermal imaging system, the typhoon interfering with his radar. The bogies were giving off a measurable amount of heat signatures, but the conditions still made it dicey at best. His primary job now was to assist in defending the ship, using the Buster's weapons to augment the already impressive defenses in anti-air and -missile support. He knew by experience that the Buster was best suited for these kinds of missions, and he was happy to get a chance to pilot the old war machine again.

But he also wanted to be up there in the skies, moving offensively against these raiders, but the _Archangel_ did not have any other subflight lifters like the GUULs ZAFT uses to allow him atmospheric flight capabilities. So Dearka had to settle on fighting on the main exterior deck of the carrier. It wasn't really a problem, since the deck provided for a stable firing position, even in rough weather and high waves the _Archangel_ was traveling in now, and an umbilical routed to the main reactors of the ship could be attached to the ninety-four millimeter energy rifle and the Buster itself for a nearly limitless amount of energy that could be used. If there's one thing Dearka liked about the _Archangel_-class carriers, they were designed around to support the GAT-X series of mobile suits, so however one may consider the Buster as obsolete, the support facilities of the _Archangel_ more than compensates for the fact.

And given the seriousness of the coming battle, Dearka knew he had to utilize all the advantages he had.

The battle started with a frenzy, as Dearka felt the ship wobble as it turned hard to right. The Buster slid a bit, but the gyroscopes compensated for this and kept the mobile suit upright and stable. Dearka heard the rumble of a large volley of Corinthos missiles launching from the carriers portside missile tubes, followed by an equal volley of Helldarts corkscrewing towards the black dots, which the computer now tagged as mobile suits of the same class as those he encountered with Athrun on Orb.

Dearka witnessed via the heat signatures on his sensors how skillfully the four raiders went into evasive actions and avoided the _Archangel's_ first volley. They didn't look like they were being affected by the sulfur missiles; in fact, they didn't care if the sulfur clouds rained on them, which would have prevented them use of the mirrage colloid system for protection and stealth. They must have been supremely confident to attack without stealth protection, or the mirrage system couldn't work on these bad weather conditions. Whatever it was, Dearka knew these raiders were an enemy to respect. The Wombats' signatures disappeared one by one as they were shot down by the raiders or encountered enemy countermeasures, and Dearka watched as the raiders began their own counterattack after surviving the withering missile barrage.

The four raiders split up into two groups, a pair moving to their right to circle towards the _Archangel's_ stern. The other two slowed their approached and began launching missiles, some targeting the ship, the others locking onto the Buster. Dearka ignored the warning signals his battle computer was ringing, and concentrated on the missiles. Getting a good, quick lock on his acquisition system, Dearka fired back, with four shots from three hundred fifty millimeter gun launcher, which roared like an angry lion as it launched its deadly ammunition into the sky.

It took a split second for the missile to encounter the gun launcher's bullets. The VT proximity fuses ignited the charges in the hollow bore round, which cracked them open and release several hundred flechette fragments that scattered all around the air. The fragments rained down on the raider missiles, pummeling them. They cut into the warheads, igniting their own fuses and detonating the warheads two-thirds of kilometer away from the ship. A few got through the murdering rain, but were quickly cut down by the ship's seventy-six millimeter close-in anti-missile Vulcans.

Grimly satisfied, Dearka shifted his fire towards the two other black raiders, and he was shocked to see them too close for his comfort. The raiders started firing their rail guns and beam cannons, all of which struck the _Archangel_ somewhere above the stern view deck. The explosions rocked the ship violently, knocking Dearka around in his seat. Once more the gyroscopes kept the Buster from toppling over, but Dearka could hear them groan from the stress. He saw the explosions die away, and was relieved in the fact that laminated armor protection of the carrier held, showing now penetration of the armor's skin. Dearka launched a counterattack, blanketing the raiders with beam fire from his energy rifle. The raiders easily evaded the beams, but they were forced to end their attack run.

Dearka didn't have time to return fire, as he shifted his attention once more to the first two. They were a lot closer to the ship now, braving the blanket of AA fire from the portside Iglestellungs. One kept pounding the laminated armor above port wing, while the other headed right for Dearka. The blonde-haired Coordinator rippled off six two hundred twenty millimeter missiles at it, and this was responded with six raider missiles. The missiles collided, and the shockwave hit the Buster, once more forcing Dearka to shift his balance by stepping back.

The raider didn't let up on his attack, and continued to dive for the Buster, beam saber drawn out. The raider slashed at the Buster twice, but Dearka leaned back to avoid the attacks by a matter of feet. The raider was attempting another melee attack, but Dearka beat him to the draw by bringing up the gun cannon and fired point blank at the raider. The cluster munition scattered flechettes all over the raider, and the impacts exploded in charged eruptions. The raider toppled over the side of the ship, and Dearka hoped that was the last he would see of that enemy. But the black suit survived and flew away while firing two rail slugs at Dearka. Both slugs struck the Buster, and the explosions knock the mobile suit down.

Dearka winced in pain as the Buster crashed unto the ship's deck. _I'm not cut out for this close-combat crap._ He felt disoriented, and tried shrugged it off as he struggled to make the Buster stand up. But two more raider missiles rammed into the Buster, forcing it down once more. Dearka was glad that the phase shift armor was holding, but he knew it couldn't hold out much longer. Echoing Athrun's thoughts at the start of the battle, he needed help fast.

And as if the heavens heard his prayer, Dearka felt the rumble of machinery working inside the ship, and saw the doors of the starboard launch bay open out into the raging battle in front now playing around the beleaguered battle carrier.

* * *

_Generation_

_Unsubdued_

_Nuclear_

_Drive_

_Assault_

_Module_

_G.U.N.D.A.M. Complex_

_Series SD100-O9 SF/IJ 01-34152_

_Z.A.F.T_

_System Online_

As the mobile suit's suits systems came to life, Kira punched in his last minute updates to the OS, optimizing the mobile suit for atmospheric combat. He hadn't flown the suit since the end of the war, and though it was auto set to fight within Earth's gravity, the brown haired Coordinator expertly finished the last settings to the OS to allow the mobile suit to respond smoothly to his every move.

CPU settings complete. Linear linkage, ionic concentration, normal. Meta data processing, stable. Power flow from the ultra-compact nuclear fission reactor, nominal. Thrust vectoring system and gyroscope, one hundred percent. Weapons systems, safeties off. Lightning multiple targeting system, set on standby. High maneuverability aerial tactics system, ready. All systems green.

Satisfied with the final settings, Kira sat back as the mobile suit rumbled into full idle power. He felt the mobile suit sway gently as its maintenance gantry began to slide into the launch bay. Taking the small amount of time to complete the process, Kira opened a line to the bridge for a final pre-launch update of the situation.

"We've got no word from Mu-_san_ or Shinn-_san_," Lacus was saying over the net, her face showing signs of fatigue and fear from battle, but trying to keep a strong and determined look for him. "We don't know if they made contact with Athrun yet. The typhoon is hampering with our thermals and magnetic resonance scanning, and radio communications as well." She looked away from the screen for a moment, before facing Kira once more. "Dearka is doing all he can from the deck, but the raiders are all over him, Kira."

"Tell Dearka to cover the port side of the ship for me. I'll cover the starboard side as soon as I clear the ship." Kira could hear Meyrin's voice over the PA indicating that launch bay one was ready for his mobile suit for take off. "Okay I'm going now."

"Be careful, Kira." Lacus' face disappeared.

Kira mentally tuned off Meyrin's voice as she continued her announcements. He concentrated on relaxing his muscles, and evening his breathing, as the mobile suit was gently settled upon the catapult system that would slingshot him out of the carrier. Kira expected to be in the thick of the fight as soon as he reaches the skies above the _Archangel_, and he was Making sure it wouldn't be like the last time when they were ambushed in Earth orbit. This time he was ready for them.

The mobile suit's power had rose to its required levels for a cat-launch, and Kira saw all the indicators on his cockpit report readiness for action. Kira sat back unto his pilot's seat and held firmly the controls, as he heard Meyrin announce the final checks for take-off.

"Course clear. Systems, all green. X-Two-Zero-Alpha, you are cleared for launch!"

"Roger, _Archangel_ control. This is Kira Yamato, Strike Freedom. Launching!"

* * *

Dearka watched as the a gray blur leapt out of the _Archangel's_ launch bay and climbed sharply beyond the starboard side of the ship. The blur glimmered, as its color changed to a motley collection of red, white, black, blue and gold. The ZGMF-X20A Strike Freedom spun gracefully in the air, before it stopped at a height of ten thousand feet. The mobile suit stretched out its massive, blue wings, forming out into something like an eight pointed shuriken star. The Strike Freedom vented out waste energy and dust from its intakes and thrusters, surrounding the mobile suit with an aura of red and gold like an avenging avatar of war waiting to flex its power.

The Strike Freedom climbed higher, before it turned and started a power dive aimed straight at the raiders. Dearka watched the raiders, who had just noticed the sudden appearance of the new mobile suit, maneuver frantically to prepare for its attack. The Strike Freedom added to their panic by firing its twin Xiphias Mk. III rail cannons, whose hyper-velocity rounds exploded in the midst of two black mobile suits. Dearka smiled, and relief came flooding slowly into his chest, as he knew the tide of battle was now changing in his and the _Archangel's_ favor. He felt _very sorry_ for the raiders. _Tough luck, you bastards. You're in a lot of trouble now.

* * *

_

Kira felt his spirit being free as the Strike Freedom climbed the atmosphere as it began its attack run. He embraced the strong power flowing into his mind and body, and channeled it with his resolve to defend and protect the _Archangel_ and his friends. The power energized Kira, as he saw in his mind's eye the purple seed explode in front of him, in a hail of starlight that illuminated his expanded senses as Kira once more entered the realm of the SEED, and saw the truth of universe's reality with his iris-dominated eyes.

Kira dove the Strike Freedom towards the raiders, announcing his presence with fire-linked shots from his rail cannons. The slugs exploded upon two raiders, one ripping off a part of its dragon-like wings, the other turning its beam rifle into slag metal. Kira concentrated on his first target, which was flailing as it lost stability from the damage on its wings. The Strike Freedom drew both of its Super Lacerta beam sabers and rushed forward, bearing down on its wounded opponent like the terrible storm they were fighting in. Kira caught the raider with a double outward slash of the sabers, which mutilated the raider, cutting off both legs and the head from its moorings. The doomed raider crashed into the ocean, and its remains exploded from beneath the angry waves.

He didn't want to kill whoever flew the black raider, but Kira understood that he didn't have a choice. The raider probably was trained to choose death over capture, as was the case in the raiders they had already encountered in the past. And Kira understood that these were threats to the safety of Lacus and his friends, and the circumstances prevented him from not sending the raider pilot to his death.

The other three mobile suits had started to regroup, and were beginning to approach the Strike Freedom threateningly. The raiders fired their beam rifles and rail guns, but Kira blocked their every attack with his left beam barrier. One raider tried to charge towards him, but backed off as energy fire from the Buster hindered his path. More Helldarts from the _Archangel_ began corkscrewing around the raiders, who were now in the defensive from the combined fire from Kira's friends.

Kira resumed his attack, and dropped the Strike Freedom between two more raiders, who were caught in surprise. One tried to push Kira back with burst from its head mounted CIWS, but the Strike Freedom's phase shift armor held against the ineffective fire. Kira kicked out at the raider, ripping off the raider's head with the right foot of the Strike Freedom. The raider was knocked out the sky, and it exploded before it crashed in the water, its chest cored by a vicious lance of red energy from the Buster's docked hyper impulse rifle.

The second raider countered more effectively than the other, blocking Kira's first few attacks with its own drawn sabers. Kira had known that these pilots were among the best he had ever encountered, and that they were dangerous opponents. But in this battle Kira's determination and enhanced skills, plus the immense power of the Strike Freedom once more turned the tide, as Kira found a sudden weakness to the raider's attacks. The raider was leaving his chest area exposed, which Kira targeted with point blank shots from his hip mounted rail guns.

The two slugs exploded violently on the lower part of the raider's body; even though its own phase armor held, the raider's right leg was smashed by the impact. Once more the Strike Freedom's leg came up, pushing upon the raider and sending him flying away out of control, before the pilot regained control before the black suit could hit the water.

At last Kira turned his attention on the final mobile suit, the one with its beam rifle the Strike Freedom melted away. Kira tracked him on his HUD, and was satisfied when his beam rifles locked on. But the raider afterburnered away from him just before he could fire, and Kira saw that it was accelerating away in southerly direction, apparently not wanting to engage the threat presented by Kira and his friends. The other damaged raider followed suit, and with their sudden retreat the battle around the _Archangel_ was over. Kira let the two go, knowing that they were no longer a threat to them.

Dearka exhaled deeply, the blonde haired pilot's relief in surviving the battle mixed with fatigue. He opened a comlink with the Strike Freedom, and on his vidscreen a determined looking pilot looked back at him with iris-filled eyes. "Nice timing Kira. Those guys are bugging out _scared_," Dearka said to the Strike Freedom's pilot.

Kira nodded back at him. "You did good too, Dearka. Cover the ship for me while I go find the others."

"_Hai_."

The Strike Freedom adjusted its wings, retracting it back as it prepared to fly off in high speeds. Dearka watched as the mobile suit climbed higher in the dark skies, and saw it disappear into the storm clouds in a blaze of blue light.

* * *

Murrue monitored the conversation between Kira and Dearka, and quietly prayed that Kira would find the others safe. Now that the immediate threat to the ship was gone, she could turn her attention to the search for her missing comrades. She felt responsible for their safety, being one of their commanding officers, and worried that they may have been hurt or lost. She was especially worried about Mu, who had not reported back ever since he and Shin had lifted off to rescue Athrun. It was not like him to keep her waiting; Making Murrue pray that the worst had not happened to him._Whereis he?_

* * *

Mu slowly opened his eyes, the loud alarm that was sounding inside the cramped cockpit of the Akatsuki waking him from his slumber. The darkness that greeted him first caused him to think he was blind, but soon the soft panel lights of the controls and instruments told him otherwise. He could hear groaning from the outside, like metal straining from pressure. Stretching a little on his cockpit, Mu felt the pain shoot out from left arm, indicating that he had broken it when the Akatsuki crashed into the water.

The crash.

Mu suddenly remembered were he was, and his current situation. First off Mu check his current location underwater, the depth gauge showing that he was currently at sixteen hundred meters and still dropping at a rate of fifty meters per minute. Mu knew that the Akatsuki could survive the pressure at these depths, but he wouldn't dare chance it in deeper waters.

Instinctively Mu reached for the start up controls for the Akatsuki's battery, but the main power provider for the mobile suit failed to stir to life. Mu turned off the red emergency lights, and activated the main illumination system of the cockpit. He found the main computer still working, all though dormant in its stand-by mode. Mu opened an MFD, and brought up a display showing the damage status of the mobile suit.

The report indicated that the battery was damaged, probably in the impact of the crash, and was unusable. But the APU working; in fact, it was supplying the emergency power the mobile suit was now using. Mu checked the other systems, and assessed his situation. With the APU he could get back to the ship, but could not engage in combat against the raiders, without power for his main weapons. Also, the Oowashi pack took heavy damage, and was unusable at this point. He could travel underwater, but he had to avoid combat at all cost. Communications only gave static, but Mu hoped that this was because he was currently underwater.

Mu made his decision. First he activated the emergency signal beacon that the Akatsuki carried, hoping that the _Archangel_ and other friendly forces could pick up its outbound signal. Next he jettisoned the flight pack; it was useless to him now and just adding to his weight underwater. Slowly he started up the thrusters on the back and legs of the Akatsuki, which groaned against his efforts. But the thrusters were winning, and slowly Mu felt the Akatsuki change direction, the descent stopping and the climb to the surface beginning. Mu let out a deep, long breath; he wasn't going to die deep in the cold ocean. All he had to do now was get back home. Back to the _Archangel_. Back to Murrue.

It took ten minutes, before the Akatsuki's head finally crested above the angry waves of the storm beaten ocean. The Akatsuki rocked with the movement of the waves, and Mu began to feel the effects of seasickness. _I didn't feel anything like this on the Archangel. I guess the size of what you're riding on counts._ Mu vectored the mobile suit towards the north, hoping to come into contact with someone soon. He didn't want to spend the night out here in the rough ocean, however safe he might be inside the Akatsuki.

He didn't need to wait too long. Warning signals blared from the internal speakers, and Mu tracked the skies above for possible threats. He found them in the form of two raiders, moving at high speeds. He thought they were coming to attack the _Archangel_, or worse spot him, before he realized that they were traveling to the _south_ of him, not to the north were the ship was. Also, he could see that they were trailing smoke, which indicated that they had taken damage. Mu raised his arm in the air in celebration, and the appearance of the red, white and blue Strike Freedom added to his jubilation. The mobile suit dipped down towards him, apparently detecting his emergency signal. Mu heard Kira's voice calling out to him on the comnet. "Mu-_san_! Mu-_san_! Are you all right? Please respond."

Mu opened the line on his end. "I'm fine, kid. Just some cuts and bruises plus a bum shoulder."

"Thank God for that," the brown haired Coordinator replied. "I'll get you back to the ship."

"No!" Mu answered immediately. "I can get back myself. Just send my coordinates to the _Archangel_ and give me a heading towards them. You go find Athrun and Shinn. They're in a lot more trouble than I am."

A moment of silence greeted his words, as if Kira was weighing what he had to do. "Understood, Mu-_san_. I'm sending your coordinates to the _Archangel_ now. Head north twenty-seven degrees. They're about twenty-five miles in that direction. Good luck."

"Go get 'em, Kira. And thanks, kid."

In a flash, the Strike Freedom ascended to the heavens and rocketed off to the south. Mu watched the mobile suit disappear into the horizon, before resuming his northerly swim towards Murrue and the _Archangel_.

* * *

Murrue felt like she could breathe again. The message from Kira was an answer to her prayers; Mu was hurt but alive, and was limping home, apparently waterborne at the moment traveling on the surface of the rough ocean. Murrue had already ordered the _Archangel_ to head for his current position, and soon they located the signal from the Akatsuki's beacon. Now all that was left was to find the other two boys, but Murrue had faith in Kira in locating them in time. _It's all up to you now, Kira-kun. Bring them back alive.

* * *

_

Shinn was getting really tired. Human bodies were not inherently designed to survive the rigors of very high altitude flight, regardless of pressurization of aircraft and the use of G-suits. Different factors like thinness of oxygen to the strain to the human anatomy adds to the limitations for a normal, Natural human being. Even enhanced persons like Coordinators have their limits, even though they received alterations in their genetic make up to allow them to survive better in such a harsh environment. But again there is a limit to everything, and when you add that you are flying in an environment of war, were a pilot would perform extreme maneuvering to ensure his survival, the capacity for fragile human bodies to succumb to exhaustion is magnified tenfold.

Shinn was feeling the strain of such extreme maneuvering, but he couldn't let up. The five raiders that were still engaging him and Athrun were relentless; they were not giving any quarter to the two Terminal pilots. Both sides have spent the last few minutes jockeying for position, with Shinn and Athrun sticking together, relying on their speed and mobility to counteract the enemies' advantage in overall firepower. This resulted in brief exchanges of long ranged fire, followed by hard evasion and turning, ending in one group using the clouds as cover, while the other follows in pursuit.

"We've got to fight through back towards the ship," Athrun called in on the net. "If its still there we might have a chance to fight them off. If they're gone, well – "

Shinn nodded grimly. "I guess we don't have much choice, eh, _Taichou_?" The raiders were beginning a new attack, beam fire were already flying around the Phoenix and the Justice.

A slight grin played on Athrun's face. "No, I guess we don't. Let's use Tactic Zephyr twelve from the ZAFT books."

Shinn took a moment to remember what tactic from the ZAFT standard mobile suit combat tactics manual his companion was referring too. "Got that. You fly at my back, since you've got the cannons. I'll fly cover."

Both pilots pulled their mobile suits into a one hundred eighty degree turn, coming to fly in a direction that would put them in a collision course with the raiders. Shinn took the lead, deploying the lightwave beam barrier from his remaining functioning arm actuator to block the raider's fire, which was intensifying as soon as the Phoenix and the Justice turned to face them. Shinn provided cover for Athrun, who flew on the same path as Shinn' staying with the Phoenix on its jet stream, evening their profiles and presenting a harder target for the raiders. Athrun, who was returning the raider's fire with sporadic blasts from his lifter mounted Fortis cannons. The two mobile suits kept pushing towards the remaining raiders, who were bunched close together in their chase.

Each side closed the distance traveling in supersonic speeds, and the gap between disappeared in seconds. At the point that they had to pull out to avoid a fatal collision with the raiders, Athrun and Shinn kept on, forcing the raiders to be the first to break off, and the process scatter from their formation. The two ex-ZAFT aces didn't break to attack, but kept on going, on a heading that sent them flying north, in the general direction of the _Archangel_.

Seeing themselves in this simple yet tactically effective game of aerial _chicken_, the raiders zeroed in once more on the duo. But Shinn and Athrun didn't relent on their reckless high speed run, determined to get closer to their battle carrier and help. If we could just hold on for a few more minutes, we could make it!

The detection of two more black dots approaching from their front changed the tactical scenario drastically. The pair had come from the north, from the general direction of where the _Archangel_ was. To Shinn it only meant two things: either the raiders failed in their strike upon the battle carrier, or that they were successful in sinking her. Shinn wanted to believe the former, but he couldn't discount the other possibility. But their arrival signified that the odds against him and Athrun just increased exponentially, and that made things a lot worse for them. Shinn risked a comlink to his wingman to ponder their options.

"We're going to be sandwiched, _Taichou_."

"Fight our way through!" Athrun answered back.

With a howling battle cry, Shinn began firing at the blockaders with angry green beams from his MA-M1911 beam rifle, which the raiders immediately evaded with random jinking. But the two black suits didn't fire back, and seemed more inclined to break off from the fight. As they got closer, Shinn got a better look at them, and found that they were heavily damaged and trailing smoke from burnt sections of the machines. Shinn was surprised at this development, and was more surprised at what happened next.

Breaking through from the darkness of the storm clouds, two green and one massive red beam struck the two raiders, follow up by the penetration of silvery rail slugs that punched through their ravaged bodies. Explosions rocked the point of impact by these powerful weapons, and both black suits ended up ravaged and mutilated, with their suddenly lifeless bodies dropped rapidly from the skies. Shinn risked a glance to where their sudden salvation came from, and his eyes grew shock as the white blur flashed out of the clouds, and rushed past the Phoenix and Justice towards the other pursuers, the shockwave of its passage striking the Phoenix a second later. The blur slowed and took a more noticeable form, and Shinn's surprise turned to a mix of relief and anger as the Strike Freedom stopped in between them and the enemy.

_Yamato!_ Shinn watched the mobile suit, flown by the man his heart and soul hated the most, prepare for battle against five equally surprised raiders.

At first both sides didn't move, sizing each other up and waiting for the other to start the fight. Athrun had taken a position on Kira's left, ready to back him up when the shooting started. With some irritation and annoyance Shinn found himself sliding to the Strike Freedom's right flank to cover that side. Both sides circled in the dark skies, watching each other's movements with a distance of a kilometer and a half between them.

Shinn eagerly wanted to start the fight; he wanted to take out these raiders who have been giving a hard time, and he wanted to make sure Yamato didn't get any glory. So as surprised as he was when Yamato suddenly appeared, he was more shocked with what Yamato did next.

The Strike Freedom stretched both its arms fully to the sides, exposing itself to the raiders. Yamato's voice boomed from his mobile suit's external speakers, in an obvious effort to contact the raiders. "_Unidentified mobile suits, this is the Strike Freedom. Your mission has failed and the Archangel survives. The team you sent to attack her has been defeated. You are all that's left of your forces and you have no hope of winning against us by continuing to fight. Surrender now_."

Shinn couldn't believe what Yamato was doing, and he angrily opened a line to the other pilot. "_Baka_, what the hell do you think you're doing? They're just going to shoot you and take you out!"

But Yamato ignored him and didn't respond, which irritated Shinn all the more. By the looks of things, Shinn seemed to be right. The raiders were beginning to move, apparently timing their next move against this new threat in front of them. And Yamato had taken notice of the movement too. "_We don't have to fight anymore. Just give up. This is your last warning_."

Shinn knew the raiders won't accept Yamato's offer, and was grimly satisfied when the black mobile suits made the first move and started their attack, all five of them targeting the Strike Freedom, multiple missiles corkscrewing angrily towards the still immobile Yamato. Shinn started to move the Phoenix to intercept the missiles, but the Strike Freedom beat him to the punch.

Angry particles of energy massed around the center of the stomach of the Strike Freedom, and these were propelled through the air in the form of a massive, red, angry beam. At the same time the Strike Freedom fired both of its beam rifles together with the twin rail guns protruding out from the side of the mobile suit's hips. The devastating rain of fire from Strike Freedom tore through the missile volley, melting some and exploding other, which caused a chain reaction of explosion as the proximity fuses on the warheads were ignited. A large cloud of explosions covered the view to the raider, but Shinn could see the red phase beam continue towards were the black suits where. The beams and slugs cut through the middle of their position, each striking a different target, which were incapacitated when their primary weapons or sensor arrays was destroyed by the sudden barrage of accurate fire.

Kira tracked the withdrawing raiders, all damaged from the devastation caused by his Blitzkrieg attack. The Lightning multi-targeting screen had slid down, giving Kira full view of the Strike Freedom's HUD once more. The raiders were now flying away, and were putting some distance between them and the three mobile suits. Kira shifted his mobile suit along its arc, keeping his sights on the black mobile suits, until they disappeared in the clouds.

* * *

The surrounding skies had settled down a bit that Kira could now hear the heavy rain pounding on the outside of the Strike Freedom. He heard the rumbling noise of another mobile suit to his left, and Kira saw at the edge of his eyes the dark silhouette of Athrun's Infinite Justice, settling into hover, covering his left flank. Shinn's Phoenix was to his right, covering that side with its beam rifle out on its lone functioning hand. Kira didn't want to ignore Shinn call just before he fired the Blitzkrieg attack, but he didn't have the time to respond

Athrun's face appeared on one of Kira's overhead MFDs, a look of exhaustion evident behind the helmet's faceplate. "About time you showed up," the Infinite Justice pilot said.

Kira grinned back at his best friend. "Had to help Dearka with some uninvited guests." He glanced on his thermal sensors for any signs of the raiders, but the cloud cover was interfering with the displays. "You guys all right?"

Athrun nodded. "Thank heavens Shinn arrived in time, or I would have been a goner. Those guys are pretty good, and fighting in this heavy rain messed up our sensors."

"We better keep our eyes open then," Kira said, and Athrun responded with another nod before killing the line. Kira scanned his HUD once more, before he turned the Strike Freedom to face the Phoenix Destiny.

The Phoenix was floating at Kira's back fifty feet away, hovering in place and doing nothing. The mobile suit looked like it was staring directly at him, as if assessing Kira if he was a threat or not. "Everything OK over there, Shinn-_san_?" Kira asked.

The Phoenix remained motionless and silent, and remained that way for some time. Suddenly the right hand went up, its beam rifle pointed directly at the Strike Freedom's cockpit. Kira was caught unawares by the sudden movement, and was still frozen in place as a green beam flared from the end of the rifle barrel directly towards him.

* * *


	11. Phase Ten

_**Author's Notes:**_

_I'm glad you liked my last chapter, which was like a comeback for me. I really had a hard time choreographing the combat scenes; I didn't have any reference and research material on how that goes, except for the anime episodes, so thanks to those who said I did a great job making it work._

_Sorry about the cliffhanger, but that part was essential to the story. Like some people said, I've been trying to work this story out in chapters designed to play out like a episode in the anime series, so I hope you don't mind that something like that happens once in a while. I apologize to those I may have inadvertently given a heart attack or a stroke, but isn't the suspense exciting? _

_Please bear with me if it sometimes takes a long time for me to update. I really want to write a good story for you, and that's why I put effort into the small details. But that makes it harder to write, and if you notice my chapters are in the average of 11,000 words per. So it's kinda takes a long time to finish. I promise, however, that it won't take another three months to finish a chap, you could bet on that. Probably a week per chapter; two weeks at the most._

_Once more thanks for reading this fanfiction, and I hope you enjoy this new chapter._

_SEED Mode On!

* * *

_

_**Disclaimers: **_

_Mobile Suit Gundam SEED is owned and copyrighted by Mitsuo Fukuda, the Sotsu Agency, Sunrise and BANDAI.

* * *

_

**Phase Ten: TheTerror In The SouthernSky

* * *

**

_**ZGMF-X20A Strike Freedom**_

_**Somewhere Over The South Pacific**_

_**January 3, CE 75**_

The Phoenix remained motionless and silent, and remained that way for some time. Suddenly the right hand went up, its beam rifle pointed directly at the Strike Freedom's cockpit. Kira was caught unawares by the sudden movement, and was still frozen in place as a green beam flared from the end of the rifle barrel directly towards him. Alarm klaxons were screaming inside the Strike Freedom, giving warning to Kira of the impending doom that was about to befall him.

But the hammer blow never came. The beam passed dangerously close to the side of the Strike Freedom, grazing within meters of the left side of the mobile suit's head. The beam continued its deadly path beyond Kira's machine, finally striking dead center on the chest of a black mobile suit four hundred meters away. The beam caused an eruption of fire upon impact, but the extra energy did not die out, penetrating through the chest and cockpit area of its victim, and coming out of the main thrusters on its back. Secondary explosions peppered the doomed raider, culminating in one massive one that sealed the fate of the black machine.

Kira watched momentarily as the debris of the dead raider fell from the sky, before he turned his attention back to the Destiny Phoenix. The mobile suit was still silent, hovering a hundred meters away from Kira, as if flexing its strength to the Strike Freedom, delivering a message to Kira that it had just saved him from certain death, but in the same time it had the power to kill him without question. _Not that I really needed another reminder_, Kira thought, remembering the death of the Freedom from Shinn's hands. Seconds later Shinn's face appeared on an MFD, and the red-eyed Coordinator spoke up to Kira in thinly veiled, threatening tone.

"Just like you said, Yamato - _always keep your eyes open_." The line was cut and the Phoenix Destiny blasted pass Kira before he could say anything. Kira watched Shinn go after the other surviving enemies. The raiders were trying to break away, realizing the futility of continuing this battle. But Shinn didn't relent, and with horrified eyes Kira watched the Phoenix Destiny hunt down mercilessly the beleaguered enemy, cutting them down from the air with a barrage of beam fire and cutting flights of boomerangs.

Kira saw the Infinite Justice chase the Phoenix, trying to head it off from continuing its blood spree. But the Phoenix just kept on avoiding it with ease, and kept of gunning down its victims. Kira heard Athrun's loud cries over the net. "Stop it, Shinn! They're already retreating. They've already given up!" But Athrun's pleas fell unto deaf ears, as the Phoenix continued its butchering of the helpless raiders. This went on for a few minutes, until finally the last victim fell, and Kira could now take his eyes away from the horror he had just witnessed.

Kira flew to Athrun's side, and opened a line to him. "Are you alright?"

Athrun's face looked stunned. "_Hai_. I'm fine," he whispered, not really meaning what he just said.

"I think we should go back," Kira suggested. "There's no way to find out where they came from now."

Athrun nodded, an angry look replacing the horror that was bleeding away. "I'm sorry, Kira. I should have been watching over Shinn. I never imagined he'd do such a thing."

Kira kept his eyes on Shinn, who had just stopped and was hovering. "_Iie_. It's not your fault. And I can't blame Shinn either. Given how much he hates me, I'm _lucky_ he even saved me."

* * *

_**Barracuda-class Submersible Carrier Piranha**_

_**Somewhere Beneath The South Pacific**_

_**January 3, CE 75**_

The submarine's captain watched grimly as emergency signals from the Wraith squadron flared the suddenly disappeared. With the storm causing problems with their sensor arrays, his crew could not confirm what fate had fallen on their mobile suit pilots. The _Piranha_ picked up the last signals over eighty miles out, but not their exact locations. But the disappearance of their signals obviously heralded their end.

"We lost all of the signals, _Kanchou_." His man at the sensors station reported the obvious.

The captain wanted to berate the young crewman, but reined back his anger. He couldn't blame the boy for the deaths of twelve valuable Extended pilots. _Extremely valuable ones_, he corrected himself. There was not enough trained Extended that were ready for combat; those capable enough to survive the rigors of flying and fighting in mobile suits, and the audacity to participate in the missions the Wraith organization was in too. A majority of the Extended who died were the ones who pulled off the successful Onogoro raid, with some replacements for Commander Adam and the pilots he took with him back to the mainland. Plus twelve expensive mobile suits, which were a lot more difficult to replace than the pilots.

The captain was a zealot and fanatic to the Cause. He believed in everything their leader said, and had no doubts of their eventual victory in this shadow war they were fighting. But this battle he had witnessed was different from what he expected. He never realized that such an elite force could be wiped out in a matter of minutes by a smaller-sized enemy. He knew the capabilities of the enemy, and he had been trained not to underestimate them. But he never realized that they were this dangerous and terrible.

This was a major defeat for their cause, and for the moment he could do nothing about it. The _Piranha_ was a carrier submarine and not a hunter-killer; she was nothing without her mobile suit squadron, and the captain did not nurture ideas that his ship could go toe-to-toe with the _Archangel_. He had no other options now but to retreat. He turned to his executive officer. "Secure from battle stations. Prepare to dive from periscope depth. Bring us down to four hundred meters. Set a course of one-one-five degrees, speed of eight knots. Plot a course for home."

"But _Kanchou_, the squadron could still be–"

"The squadron has been _destroyed_, Commander," the captain interrupted his exec. "They are _dead_, all of them. We drew the enemy to an ambush but they escaped and destroyed our force." The captain headed for the hatch leading out of the submarine's control center. "We have been _defeated_, and we cannot engage the enemy in our state. We will report their current position and return to our base to replenish, and _I_ will face the Master to report our defeat and ask for forgiveness for our failure personally."

* * *

_**Archangel**_

_**Somewhere In The South Pacific**_

_**January 3, CE 75**_

Kira saw that Athrun was waiting for him at the foot of the Strike Freedom. He looked impatient and angry, and Kira had a good idea why. He knew he was not the reason why his best friend was currently in this state of mind, but he was still wary to approach him. He was looking so scary that it even terrified Meyrin, who standing close by, apparently having finished her bridge shift after Kira landed, and waiting for and anxious about Athrun. Lacus was also waiting for them, standing beside Meyrin, and she gave a danger signal with a shake of her head that Kira had better keep quiet before Athrun for now.

It was obvious that Athrun didn't notice the two were there, which said a lot about his current emotional state. His angry features didn't change as Kira stepped off the lift cable and stood in front of him. "Let's go," was all he said, as he stalked off in the direction of the pilot's ready room, with Meyrin silently in his wake. Lacus sighed as she and Kira fell in behind the pony-tailed CIC officer.

The four reached the ready room, and went inside. Only two persons were inside; Mu-_san_ was still in sickbay being checked out for his sprained shoulder. A thoroughly exhausted Dearka was slumped on one of the room's sofas, and Shinn, who was storing his flight helmet inside an open locker. The red-eyed pilot stopped what he was doing as soon as he heard them enter.

"Shinn, I want to speak to you," Athrun said, without preamble.

Shinn didn't face them, but tossed his helmet roughly into the locker, and began to get out of his flight suit. He did, however, acknowledge Athrun's cold entrance with his own grimness. "Do you have a problem with me, Zala?"

"You're _damn_ right I do! Why did you do that?"

At this point Dearka had woken up, and eyeing both pilots warily. Shinn kept his attention to Athrun, and gave him a questioning look, as if he was oblivious to what Athrun meant. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Kira could feel Athrun's anger close to spilling over. Like Meyrin he was getting worried; he had never seen Athrun this angry before. He was now shouting harshly at Shinn. "I really didn't want to talk to you about that reckless stunt you pulled with Kira, but why didn't you just capture those raiders? They were already beaten, Shinn! But no, you had to shoot all of them down! We could have captured some of them! Or we could have followed them to their ship! They might have surrendered to us! _But you had to kill them all!_"

Shinn was not showing any sign that he was intimidated with Athrun. Instead, he looked more defiant, as if this had happened between them a few times before. "So?"

Athrun was seething. "You stupid idiot! They were retreating and giving up the fight!" Meyrin had already mustered some courage to hold him back, but Athrun struggled out of her weak grip, slowly moving threateningly towards Shinn. "They weren't fighting back! You _slaughtered_ them!"

Shinn slammed the locker door, which swung back from the force of the push. He had a look that could kill as he started to meet Athrun halfway. "Why do you care? We all had to kill during the time of war." He nodded to Kira's direction. "Even your show-off, _murderer_ friend understands what I did. He even probably _relishes_ it."

Kira heard a cry from his back, and just remembered the Lacus was there too. She had covered her mouth in her shock, and her face was so pale she looked like a ghost. Before Kira could say or do something, Athrun had launched himself at Shinn, and both men sprawled into the floor in a heap.

Everyone froze with surprise at the scene, and it took a second before anyone could react. Kira was the first to move, reaching out for Athrun, who had just punched Shinn in the nose. Kira grabbed hold of Athrun with both hands and pulled his angry best friend away from the fracas. Dearka caught Shinn before his head hit the floor, and pinned him down as he struggled to charge Athrun back. Kira pushed Athrun to the opposite wall, where Meyrin held him back and pleaded for him to calm down. Kira stood in between him and Shinn, who had stopped struggling, but laughing maniacally on the floor. Blood was flowing from Shinn's nostrils.

"Shinn – " Kira started, but the black-haired Coordinator cut him off.

"If you want a piece of me Yamato, then take your best shot." Shinn had stopped laughing, and was eyeing Kira with a murderous gaze.

"Why you son of a –", Athrun started, as he shifted his weight to lunge once more at Shinn, but Meyrin held him firmly and Kira blocked his way.

"It's alright, Athrun," Kira said softly to his friend, who reluctantly stopped, but kept his eyes locked on Shinn. But Shinn's red eyes wasn't looking back at him; it was now locked on Kira's purple ones, and both held there gaze for several silent minutes, and Kira sensed that everyone else was holding their breath, waiting for the first one to break the stare. Kira felt Lacus edge nearer behind him, while Dearka was tensing preparing to hold Shinn back should it come to a fight between the two. Shinn's fists were clenched, cocked to strike should he reach Kira.

It was Kira who made the first move, and it was something nobody in the room was expecting. He took one step forward and placed himself in the middle of the room, stood straight in attention, and _bowed_.

It was a deep bow, as a sign of respect that he knew Shinn would understand. And Shinn looked like he did, because Kira could see from the corner of his eyes that the evil stare Shinn had was gone, replaced by one of unexpected surprise.

"W-what are you doing, Yamato?" Kira heard Shinn croaked in a breaking voice. Kira held his bow, and answered Shinn in a very soft whisper that everyone had to strain their ears to hear what he was saying.

"I'm thanking you, Shinn, for saving my life out there."

Shinn was totally confused. "But I could have –"

Once more he was cut off by Kira's soft reply. "I know what you were going to say, Shinn, that you could have _killed_ me as easy as saving me. I understand that. And I accept that."

Athrun was shaking his head in disbelief. Meyrin looked awestruck. Dearka was watching both men carefully. Lacus wanted to take hold of Kira to stop from bowing, but was holding herself back.

Shinn, however, was totally speechless. Kira took his silence as an opportunity to continue what he wanted to say. "I know you're confused, but here me out. The world could is falling into chaos as we speak, but we have to power to do something about it. But in order for us to succeed, we _must_ be _united_. But I understand that there are things between us that have to be settled before that could happen, or we will only fail."

"That's why I am doing this, Shinn. I am _humbling_ myself in front of you so that you would understand. I know I _have_ done you wrong in the past, and for that I _apologize_." Kira paused to let his words sink with Shinn. "I ask for your forgiveness for all the wrongs I have done to you - for killing Stellar Louisser; for not stopping your friend Rey and Gladys-_Kanchou_ and letting them die; for the death of your family. I don't relish the fact that it happened, and I'm accepting the responsibility for them. You said I took your life away. In return, I offer you _mine_."

"Kira – "Athrun was saying, but once more a hand gesture from Kira stopped him. Lacus was sobbing. Shinn, however, finally got his head cleared, and got up to his feet. He stood over Kira, and shouted down at him in a very angry, but confused voice.

"Damn you, Yamato. _Why_ are you doing this? Why are you doing this to me?"

Kira sighed before he continued on, not moving from his bow. "Because I want this to _end_. This vendetta of yours is only taking us farther from where we have to go, and sending us down the path that will destroy us all. We cannot save our chosen future by living in the past. So if it means that I have to _die_ for you to soothe your thirst for vengeance, then _I will_." Kira paused, his last words ringing like thunder.

Kira tilted his eyes slightly so that he could see into Shinn's. "As long as you promise me, no, you promise _yourself_, that you would find a way to protect the future for everyone in this world, Natural or Coordinator, and not to let it fall into the spiral of chaos and hate again."

Kira looked down once more. "We owe it to those who want to live in a better future. We owe it to those who lost their lives meaninglessly in the madness of the past. And we owe it to those who died _fighting_ for this present we have been given to protect."

Once more, the room fell silent, and nobody moved or said anything for several moments. After what felt like a lifetime, Kira saw Shinn shuffle back, then straighten up once more. Shinn quickly walked past him, and ran out of the door as soon as it opened up into the _Archangel's_ corridors. Kira waited for the door to close before he straightened up from his bow.

He turned to his friends. Kira saw Lacus crying on one of the sofas, with Meyrin comforting her quietly. The red-haired girl nodded to her, assuring Kira that she would take care of Lacus for him. Dearka was looking at him with a wistful stare.

Athrun strode purposely towards him and looked him in the eye. "Tell me why you did that, Kira."

Kira sighed. "I had to, Athrun. I had try and reach out to him. Or in the end, this madness will just kill us all." Kira glanced sadly at Lacus, who was being led out of the ready room by Meyrin.

"I don't want anyone to cry anymore."

* * *

Mu sat quietly on the edge of the bed, gingerly stretching his sore muscles. The ship's doctor had just finished putting his sprained left arm on a sling, and had just stepped out of the sickbay. Murrue was still speaking to Dearka on the video screen, and Mu could she her frown becoming more pronounced. Mu couldn't here what they were talking about; Murrue had taken to use the handset to mute out the audio from the other inhabitants of the room. But from her looks and the one from the blond Coordinator, Mu figured it was not good.

Finally Murrue concluded her talk, and put the handset back on its cradle. She turned her frowning face at Mu as the video screen shut off. Mu didn't like that look in Murrue, especially if it was directed to him. "Uh, what did I do now?" he asked sheepishly.

Murrue sighed; to Mu she looked like she deflated. She sat down beside him, closing her eyes and resting her head on his right shoulder. Mu could feel her trying to calm her breathing, and waited for her to speak.

"It's not you, dummy. Something's happened between Shinn and Kira, again." She repeated what Dearka told her on what happened in the pilot's ready room. As he heard the details, Mu couldn't help but chuckle. Murrue instantly stood up straight, and glared at him. "What are you so amused about?"

"That kid," Mu said, grinning. Murrue knew he meant Kira. "He never fails to amaze me." He shook his head at wonderment.

Suddenly Murrue gave Mu a swat on the head. "Oww! What was _that_ for?"

"For being an idiot," she answered, glaring at him angrily. "How could you think this is funny?"

Mu closed his eyes and sighed. He should have expected Murrue would be that concerned about the young Coordinator pilots. She had taken them under her wing, in a motherly or elder sister kind of way. Regardless of if they didn't get along or were enemies at the start, event, Murrue afforded the young men the respect they deserved, and eventually they came to trust her.

Murrue was trying her best to make Shinn feel accepted, but though there were signs that he was opening up to them, this last incident was a sign that he was still holding on to some lingering hatred for Murrue's group. And it had affected her deeply, Mu was sure of that, and Mu knew he had step a bit overboard with his attempt to lighten things up. He stood up and held Murrue close with his uninjured arm. "_Gomen_."

Murrue nodded. "Yeah, I know. It's just so frustrating. We thought we had a breakthrough with him, but it seems –" Once more she rested her head on his shoulder.

Mu grabbed her shoulder and started to lead her out of the room. "C'mon. Let's debrief them."

Murrue looked him over worriedly. "But you're hurt," she said. "Why don't you stay here first? I can handle it."

But Mu didn't give in. "_Iie_. I know we're all tired after the fight, but a sprain won't keep me here in the sickbay long. I'll go with you to the debriefing then get some rest in my room. I promise, Murrue."

Murrue gave him a tired nod. "Let's go."

* * *

They reached the conference room after asilent walk. Mu automatically took note of the somber mood of its occupants. Dearka was leaning on a wall, and nodded to Mu in greeting. Lacus looked like she had cried her eyes puffy and red. She seemed to be in the verge of collapse, much more than the others, but either her remaining strength or her will was keeping her barely awake. Meyrin hovered near her, ready to give her support, like a true friend would. Athrun was engrossed with something on his laptop, ignoring their arrival, angrily hammering away on its keyboard. Kira sat beside him, his purple eyes deep in thought. Kira looked at them as Mu and Murrue sat down, but said nothing.

"Tell me what happened out there," Murrue said without preamble, starting the de-briefing.

"We got jumped," Athrun began, taking it upon him to report for the whole team. The others kept to their silence. Athrun continued his report, narrating everything that happened in the mobile suit battle, including Shinn's erratic behavior after Kira arrived to support them. "I mean, he had been performing well till that point. He was doing cooperative tactics with me effectively. But after Kira showed up, he just went crazy." He told them about Shinn's uncontrolled brutality when he finished off the retreating raiders. "If we could have captured even _one_, we could have used the information on our mission. But he had to cut them all down! He's just –", Athrun shook his head in frustration. "He's just…"

Murrue nodded sympathetically. "I understand how you feel, Athrun-_kun_. But eventually those raiders would have killed themselves than be captured. Shinn just took it to the extreme. You had every right to feel angry."

Athrun looked at Murrue. "I'm sorry about how I acted back in the ready room. And I'm asking forgiveness for Shinn as well. I was the one who asked him to join us and he's my responsibility."

"You did nothing wrong, Athrun-_kun_," Murrue replied. "We were right to trust Shinn-_kun_, and he is the best choice for the job, but we have to realize that he still has some things he has to work out. And it's not going to be easy for him, especially here on the _Archangel_. Too many bad memories, I suppose." Mu watched as Murrue looked at everyone in the room. "Each one of us, with the probable exception of Dearka-_san_, had an adverse influence on him. Although I applaud all your efforts to reach out to him, please remember to be patient with him."

Everyone nodded affirmative.

"Any news on where those raiders came from, _Kanchou_?" Dearka asked, attempting to change the topic.

"_Iie_. We began trying to find out if there's a carrier or a submarine out there that could carry them after you and Kira cleared the skies around the _Archangel_." Murrue brought up flight data and gun-camera videos of their mobile suits up on the main screen on the conference room wall. "If your combat data is correct, we were up against a dozen raiders - that's two squadrons worth of mobile suits using EA force structures, three squadrons in ZAFT parlance. Based on known capital ship designs, both sides don't have any ocean-going vessel large enough to carry such a force. The EA's _Tarawa_-class carrier can carry six mobile suits, same goes with ZAFT's _Vosgulov_-class submarine."

"Reports we got before we left Orb indicates that the EA has carrier battlegroups in the South Pacific, but losses in the last war left them operating only one carrier per group. And I don't think they'll move two carriers to take us on, what with the instability in the USSA plus the dangers of operating carriers in a storm."

Athrun nodded understanding, before he faced his compatriot in the former La Crueset team. "What about ZAFT? What do you know, Dearka?"

Mu watched Dearka as he shuffled his feet, obviously uneasy about having to share information he wasn't sure he could give. "I'm not updated about our deployments in the South Pacific, nor am I not sure I could tell you everything." He looked at Murrue for understanding, and he was rewarded with a nod.

"The South Pacific is under the command of Carpentaria Base, as is the South American sector. From what I know of their force composition, they only have one _Vosgulov_ patrolling this area, and no surface forces. ZAFT and the EA has an understanding that the USSA is an internal matter of the Earth Alliance, and that ZAFT won't interfere directly. And there are only two ships that I know that's capable of carrying that large a mobile suit force and operate in Earth's oceans: this ship, and the _Minerva_."

Mu contemplated what Dearka had said. It coincided with what Terminal already knew. And Murrue didn't reveal their knowledge of the unknown contact the _Vosgulov_ had detected on these waters.

Murrue, however, made her next line of questioning less revealing of that fact. "What about a new class of ship - something large enough to carry twelve suits and enough stealth to escape detection?" She asked to know one in particular.

Mu watched Dearka's reaction, but his reaction was stone cold. It's either he has no knowledge of this kind of information, or Dearka was really a very good poker player. _Better not play cards with him._

It was Athrun who answered the question, not Kira, who was the one who told Murrue and him about the strange submarine detected by the _Vosgulov_. "That's a possibility we can't dismiss. From what we know about the raiders, they have access to very advanced military technology and possible production facilities. We have to consider the existence of new capital ship out there, plus another one in space that they probably used to attack the _Archangel_ and the _Minerva_."

Everyone fell into an uneasy silence, thinking about what Athrun had concluded.

Mu took the chance to change the subject. "So what did we find out? What did we get from the transfer?"

"Before that," Athrun interrupted. "I want to know how the raiders knew we were here. _Sumimasen, Taisa_, but I think that is more important for the moment." He glanced down at his laptop. "I've been making some checks on my own, and I may have found something interesting. I'm not sure about this; I think we should have Chandra-_san_ and Meyrin take a look at it."

"What did you find?" Mu asked.

Athrun typed in a few commands, and the contents of the laptop was projected on the main wall screen. "I think it has something to do with our transmission. I checked the frequency of the transfer pulse, and it looked normal. But I noticed that after the pulse reached the satellite, the return pulse was delayed than normal. Lacus couldn't have noticed it at once, unless we were expecting such a possibility."

"I checked the protocols, and the return should have been instantaneous. But from where I see it, the satellite may have initiated some other subroutine of programming before sending back," Athrun sat back on his chair, and scratched his head. "I can't be certain unless I see the schematics for the satellite's systems, and Meyrin's a lot better than I am when it comes to communications systems." Athrun smirked at Meyrin. Mu could see from the corner of his eyes the redness in the red-haired girl's face growing from Athrun's compliments.

Murrue thought over what Athrun had said. "What about the ship? Isn't it possible that there might be something, or someone, that initiated that compromised transfer?"

Athrun nodded, and from her the look on her face, Mu knew Murrue didn't like that answer. "We'll have to assume that, _Kanchou_. It's a highly likely scenario. It's one of the options we have to look deep into. Someone could have tampered with our system as a means for the raiders to track us. Again I am not sure of this, but this method is ingenious."

Murrue looked grim. "So what you're saying, Athrun-_kun_, is that we may have a possible traitor aboard the ship? Someone may have betrayed us?"

Athrun hesitated. Mu saw from his blue eyes that he was calculating his response carefully. "_Hai, Kanchou_. It's a possibility we can't dismiss."

"What about the status of the transmission we received?" Murrue turned to Lacus.

The pink haired girl shrugged. "It's still being decrypted by Chandra-_san_, and he's looking over its integrity."

"Do you think it was compromised?"

It was Athrun who answered the question. "_Iie_. I'm fairly positive the transmission to us was safe. I can't say about the contents though. We have wait till Chandra-_san_ reports."

"Very well. I guess that should cover everything for now. We'll have our next conference at twenty-one hundred hours. For now, get some rest everyone. Meyrin-_kun_, please inspect the communication protocols with Chandra-_san_ on your next shift. That's all. Dismissed."

* * *

As everyone filed out of the room, Mu included, he noticed Murrue didn't move from his seat. She called out to Kira, who had said nothing in the entire meeting, and asked him to stay. Mu eyed her, but she indicated that she didn't need him to stay. _An elder-sister-younger-brother talk huh?_ Mu watched Kira sit down, his eyes revealing nothing. _Guess I have to leave that to you, love._

"You want to talk about it, Kira-_kun_?" Murrue asked the young man, as soon as the door hissed closed.

He shrugged. "There isn't really anything to talk about, Murrue-_san_. Things just happened."

Murrue swiveled her chair to face away from him. "You really didn't need to do that to Shinn, Kira-kun."

"_Iie_. I had to start making amends to him - for the good of group."

"The group?" Murrue stared into Kira's eyes.

Kira broke the gaze and closed his eyes, a smile forming on the edges of his lips. "You know me very well, Murrue-_san_. I should have realized you'd know how I feel."

Murrue nodded solemnly. "You're doing this for yourself. To ease whatever pain you feel."

"I know I sound selfish, but that's the truth. I don't want people to cry anymore because of whom I am and what I have done."

Murrue leaned turned towards the conference table and leaned forward, resting her weary head on her open palms. "We're not sure you were the cause of all his suffering, Kira-_kun_."

Kira shifted from his stance and began to head for the door. He stopped just as he passed Murrue and patted her on the shoulder. "Thanks for saying that, Murrue-_san_. I know you mean well. But I know I _had_ something do with it. And being human, I'm affected as well." Kira left the room silently, leaving Murrue to contemplate the most recent events alone.

* * *

_**Raider Base**_

_**Location Unknown**_

**_January 3, CE 75 _**

Delia Samson shivered under her parka as the gust from the VTOLs engines blew the cold air and snow around her. The aircraft that had carried Adam and his team back from the _Barracuda_ was landing on the short airfield their group had carved on the side of this snow-capped mountain. Reports of the team success had reached them a day before, and that the initial studies of the information they acquired was favorable.

She knew she didn't have to meet him as soon as he landed, but the other project Adam had ordered her to study, based on the Pharaoh's gift for him, was very revealing and she was excited to share her initial findings. But now she was regretting having to watch the VTOL's arrival at these extreme weather conditions. A blizzard was blowing through the mountain range, and pounding their base with tons of snow. Her parka was not helping her warm down, even the heat from the VTOL's engines wasn't giving her much relief. But to Delia, the cold was much more bearable than the unease she felt from her companion, who was waiting for Adam's arrival with more longing than she did.

The Pharaoh's daughter stood beside her, braving the cold wearing only the black pilot's jump suit she had come to prefer. Isis watched as Adam and the others stepped out of the VTOL's hatched, and broke into wide smile as she dashed towards the brown haired pilot and grabbed him with a hug. Delia fought from breaking out into a grin in amusement, as Adam tried to get loose from the golden-haired teenager's grip. Isis eventually let go of him, and was satisfied to follow him as Adam walked over to Delia. Adam's three other Extended pilots, a pair of twins and another golden-haired girl, followed silently, revealing nothing of how they saw the scene that had just happened.

Adam walked pass Delia, deigning to greet her. "What do you have?" was all he said. Delia fell in step with Isis, who seemed annoyed that she followed them. The six walked deeper into the main hanger of the base, away from the cold of the outside world. They just reached the lift and got into it when Delia said her first words.

"First off, I would like to congratulate you, Adam, for a successful mission. The Master also sends word, and hopes you could visit him to make your report." Delia saw that Isis screwed her face more, with Delia's breaking the news of the Pharaoh's summons. Delia ignored her. "I'll order the engineers to begin study of the data you recovered immediately, so that we could design our parts for the prototypes as soon it's possible."

"The data is usable," Adam replied. "I suggest we use ZAFT data that Azrael acquired in the First War and integrate them. We could use existing ZAFT designs and reverse-engineer them. That would make application easier and faster."

The door to the lift opened as they reached the main living level of the base. Adam dismissed his three pilots, who saluted him and walked away quietly. Adam tried to shoo the Pharaoh's daughter away, but Isis was adamant to stay.

"Why can't I be with you, Adam?" Isis pouted. "You've been away for some time and I missed your presence."

Adam looked at her angrily. "Because what I need to do is more important, Lady Isis - your father's wishes come first."

Isis tried to respond, but the look on Adam's face stopped her. "Very well, I guess you are right. But I you can't stay away from me forever, Adam. I am my father's daughter and I can do what I _want_," she said with a barely veiled threat. She stepped back into the lift. "Maybe I could see you later - _tonight,_ if you like." The door closed in front of her, as the lift headed deeper into the installation.

Now that they were alone, Delia broke out in laughter. It was a mocking laugh, calculated to infuriate and annoy Adam, as she had done all those years to the serious young man. "What are you laughing about, woman?"

Delia stopped laughing, but the smile that was left on her lips was just as irritating to Adam. "Because, my dear, for all your genius and strengths, you still can't seem take grasp of the diplomatic. Good relations with your Master and his kin are paramount to your success."

"Bah," Adam waved her comments off. "I can deal with the Master and his wishes. At least his goals are clear. But that girl-"

"-_Is_ the Master's daughter. Never forget that, Adam." Delia reminded him, as they entered her office. She walked over to her table and sat down on her seat. "Please take a seat."

But Adam kept standing. "The results, Dr. Samson."

Delia sighed and opened a cabinet on her table, which held her personal safe. She opened the safe and took out the binder that held the documents the Pharaoh had given Adam during his last visit to him. He hand immediately handed off the file to Delia for study, and seeing Adam's excitement about the Pharaoh's gift, she began to work on it after Adam and his team left for Gibraltar.

She glanced at the numbers on the cover of the binder, and opened them to were she left additional notes she had annotated. "My initial estimates are correct. The subject discussed here was the only officially accepted one to be called a success for the project. The numbers all indicate improvements from the initial subjects, while retaining the norms for neural activities for human beings. The enhancements are a mix of the standardized one available in the PLANTs or in Coordinator-friendly nations, but there are some others that are remarkable and revolutionary, unlike those I have encountered in the past."

"The revolutionary techniques provided for the development of the subject were beyond my time. The end result was close to perfect, but from first look, the statistics shows that successful subject was no different from the failed ones, with no significant increase in performance, except for some mental areas, which proved that the subject was more mentally stable."

"So does that mean the other subjects are mentally _unstable_?"

Delia couldn't help notice the hint of fear coming from Adam's voice as he spoke. "_Iie_. I said that the subject was more stable than others, especially in his mental calculations and decision making, but it does not mean the others are unstable."

"Although considered a failure, the project had produced several successful subjects, rather than the only one they accepted officially as a success, as we both know and have evidence of. The grants the project received from its generous donor had borne fruit, in fact many of them. As for the fate of the other subjects, we can only speculate."

"What about the other project?"

Delia hesitated. She didn't want to open that topic for now. "We are still on the testing stages, Adam. The design of the nanotechnology is so complex that the machines are very advanced but very fragile. The life expectancy for the system if so short that its still not feasible for its designed mission."

"Is there nothing else you can do to speed it up?" Adam asked. "With the data we acquired the development of the delivery platforms can be accelerated."

"_Iie_. We are working as fast as my scientists and biomechanical engineers can."

"Work faster, mother." Adam demanded. "What with this situation brewing in the USSA, the opportunity to spread more chaos in the world has increased tenfold. And I intend to exploit it. And with the studies you are undertaking and the applications of its results, nothing can stand in _my_ way."

* * *

_**Onogoro Airbase**_

_**Onogoro Naval Base**_

_**Onogoro Island**_

_**Orb Union**_

_**January 3, CE 75**_

It was chilly that early evening, as Cagalli was about to step out of the supersonic transport that she flew from Oslo. She thanked the head stewardess for the pleasant flight, and shook hands with the aircraft's captain. Cagalli stepped into the cold night, and was greeted by the applause and loud cheers from supporters who were waiting for her on the airfield's tarmac, the mass of people waving flags of Orb framed by the lights of news cameras and the airfield's facilities.

Carefully, she walked down the mobile ladder and unto the tarmac. Although the wounds she received in the Oslo attack completely healed, the doctors wanted her to ease up on her activities and not to strain herself. Normally Cagalli would have rebelled, but seeing that she was lucky to have lived through the experience almost unscathed, she tried to do whatever the doctors, whose skill saved her life, asked. Thus she took extra precautions in her mobility, much to the happiness of her aides, who was used to strong-willed and independent, mobile woman.

As she reached the tarmac, Cagalli turned to the young lieutenant of the Orb Defense Force Naval Command that had received and saluted her. She looked the officer over, and though they were kept hidden by some copious amounts of makeup, the traces of scars from the injuries this young man had received in his defense of the Onogoro Base that happened simultaneously with Oslo. That this man had risked his life to protect others and still stand strong and tall for his head of state gained him Cagalli's respect, which she showed by the crisp salute she returned his with. The young officer led Cagalli towards a small, raised platform with Orb's flag flying on a pole, and both stood in attention, leading the gathered crowd in the playing of the island country's national anthem.

As soon as the music from the brass band ended, and another round of applause died away, Cagalli took her place on a podium beside the pole. And with a voice full of strength and pride for her beloved country, once more the Chief Representative of Orb spoke to her people.

"My fellow citizens of Orb," she began, nodding to the ranks of officials and well-wishers. "Tonight I have returned to our homeland, after surviving the viciousness of a vile attack on my peers. The my peers and I were working for the peace of the world was of no consequence to whoever instigated the evil that has befallen our brothers in Oslo, and took the lives of leaders of the world whose only objective was an end to the violence that had shadowed over the world for the past year."

"As Oslo burned, I survived due to the efforts of brave rescue personnel. Oslo's doctors saved me from certain death, so I thank them gratefully. But my relief at my survival was broken by the news of a more violent attack in my homeland. I grieve for the lost lives of those brave defenders of our beloved country who gave their lives protecting our homes and families. And as I grieve for them, I wish to honor them. I wish to honor their memories by taking care of their families, of giving hope and security to their children, by raising their names to the pedestal of heroes that Orb is known to father."

"To them, we should give our thanks. For without them, then Orb would have burned more and more would have been lost. Their sacrifice gave us new hope to live better lives, but I so wish that their lives will be the last ones sadly lost. We need to continue on for them. To do our part in building a world were all men, be a Natural or Coordinator, could live with the best of his abilities, and be happy."

"My father once said to me that fighting could only bring hatred between men. That if one strikes down another out of hatred, the family of that one will hunt down his hunt in his own shroud of hatred. And from this hatred, chaos will again dominate our world. Let us not let our hatred and yearning for vengeance drive us to embrace chaos again. Let us find a way to the light of peace, freedom, justice and equality that all men wish to have."

"And Orb is finding its way. We have successfully signed the Oslo Treaty, even though evil men tried to derail it, the spirit of Oslo still lives. With the agreement we have entered a new era of cooperation with the other nations of the world. With the return of the United Nations, the whole mankind is once more united - united to bring peace and prosperity to all men; united to give security for all to live without fear of hatred and violence; united to bring an end to war."

"But there are something we need to keep; ideals that kept Orb as a shining example for all through the dark days of conflict. We reaffirm the ideals of Orb for neutrality; we shall not partake in war, nor shall we start a war. We will only take arms to defend our lands, as our brave members of the Orb Defense Force have done days ago. But for the sake of our new heroes, we will not forget what happened that day here in Onogoro. I will not forget."

"This is a promise I will keep as long as I live, and as long as Orb stands. I will not forget. Thank you."

Thunderous applause erupted as Cagalli finished her speech. Camera flashes burned once more as she walked down the receiving line and shook hands with dignitaries. Several media people called out her name for questions, but she deigned to answer them, telling them that she would entertain them in the next scheduled press conference.

Finally she reached the end of the receiving line, and approached the waiting limousine she would ride away to the main administrative building. Standing by the door of the vehicle was his military advisor and good friend Ledonir Kisaka, smiling at her while standing in rigid attention in his Orb Defense Force dress uniform. Cagalli returned his salute, and got into the limousine before him and Veronica Hathaway, Cagalli's personal secretary and confidante. She found two other officers, also decked out in dress uniforms, waiting for her inside the vehicle; one she recognized on the spot, the other someone she had not yet met. She took the hand of the one she knew and shook at as she sat on the limousine's seat. "We need to stop meeting like this, Waltfeld-_sama_."

The scar-faced Coordinator agreed. "It seems that we only meet when there's trouble afoot, Chief Representative."

Cagalli had to laugh. "We have to improve our social calendars, then." She faced the other occupant in the car. "And you are?"

"_Chusa_ Ford Tourneville, Madam Chief Representative," the man with glasses answered. "I am with Military Intelligence, assigned to _Chujo_ Kisaka's staff. I'm here to help the _Chujo_ brief you on the situation."

Cagalli nodded. "Do you have anything new to report? My last brief came twelve hours ago in Oslo."

Tourneville opened his laptop, which showed a new intelligence brief. "Orbital command has received word from the Archangel via the communications satellite we tasked over the South Pacific coast of South America over five hours ago. The ship has reported readiness for the mission, with all their mobile suits finally prepped for action. They will begin reconnaissance of the mainland as soon as we send them word on the next communications window."

"Any indication on how they plan to push through with the recon mission?" Cagalli inquired.

"_Iie_. I'm certain their waiting for our next update in twenty hours. But given that they already sent out their first transmission that indicates that they are in the position to begin their mission."

"Have they been updated from our side?"

"_Hai_," Tourneville confirmed. "As per plan, we sent our latest information and strategic intelligence estimate coinciding with their transmission."

Cagalli pondered about what Tourneville said, before turning his attention to Kisaka. "What do you think, Kisaka-_sama_?"

"Personally I think Kira-_sama_ and Ramius-_sama_ are in a good position to succeed in their mission, and we have mobilized all possible assets in the area in support - its all down timing and implementation on their part."

"Timing is becoming critical, Chief Representative," Waltfeld added. "With the recent raid on Gibraltar, the raiders are becoming more aggressive. And from what I heard from my contacts in Europe, ZAFT has taken quite a blow. They are checking what they lost and re-assessing their security,"

"What are the chances of success for the Archangel's part, _Shousa_?" Veronica asked, speaking for the first time.

The Desert Tiger smiled at Cagalli's beautiful green haired secretary. Cagalli knew Andrew Waltfeld to be somewhat of a Don Juan, and would use his wits and rugged looks to charm beautiful young women to approve of what he said. But she also knew that her friend Veronica could hold her ground.

"I believe they have a reasonable chance, Ms. Hathaway. I can fill everyone in here of their initial plan, as long as everyone hear is cleared."

Cagalli answered that with a nod. It took three minutes for Waltfeld to fill them in. "I know it's still shaky, but we're doing everything we can to provide support."

"Whose idea is this?" Cagalli had to ask, even though she dreaded the answer.

Tourneville kept silent, wanting to keep out of this. Waltfeld grinned but said nothing. It was Kisaka who answered for them. "It's Kira's and Athrun's idea."

Cagalli blinked. That wasn't the answer she expected, thinking it was his brother or _Taisa_ La Flaga alone who thought about this crazy mission, _but Athrun too_? She was already uncomfortable with Athrun's idea to bring in Shinn Asuka, and she was worried for him when he left with the _Archangel_, but this plan of his was way out on the limb. She looked at Waltfeld incredulously. The Coordinator had the grace to lose the smile before he explained why Athrun planned it this way. "He's got some good ideas and a much more reasonable tactics than Kira would have. And I've made sure to help them in my own _inimitable_ way."

Cagalli sighed, as the limousine was nearing the Administrative Building. As much as he loved Athrun, she had come to be wary of lame-brained ideas he and his brother had hatched in the past years. But deep inside, she had to admit that between those two and the rest of the Archangel crew, they were the best hope for Orb and the world now.

_As long as they don't get caught - or Orb will be in a lot of trouble. I hope whatever Waltfeld-sama is thinking could keep them safe._

"I guess we just have to support them. Given the neutrality stance we have to keep, all of our hopes once more are in the hands of those two _idiots_."

* * *

_**Forward Deployment Base**_

_**USSA Army**_

_**Twelve Miles East of Manaus**_

_**Amazonas Sector**_

_**Brazil State**_

United States of South America 

_**January 3, CE 75**_

Miriallia woke suddenly at loud rumbling sound that had roughly shaken the field tent that was her accommodation in this base. The orange-haired news photographer took a moment to regain her balance, before she slowly got up from her bunk and stretched. She checked her watch and saw that it was close to six in the evening; she had stayed up the night before, monitoring the news reports coming from the satellite TV, and those filtering in from the occupied north, and as result had slept through most of the day.

The stories were grim; the successful and brutal assassination of the puppet government's highest leader had drawn the anger of the Atlantic Federation overlords who ruled from Cali, and the reports of crackdown on known opposition leaders and Resistance cells were increasing in number and level of brutality. But what was more troubling was the news of a massive mobilization effort, with military forces massing along the Rio Grande line, ready to cross the river into the territories held by the beleaguered United States of South America. Miriallia was knowledgeable with the history of this conflict; it was one of her first assignments when she started becoming a freelance war photographer after the First Bloody Valentine War. She knew the suffering that the people of the free lands of the USSA was still going through, and she feared that things would be a lot more difficult for them should the conflict escalate further.

Washing her face with water from a basin that sat beside her bunk, Miriallia shook the last webs of sleep away. She combed her hair with her hands to groom it a bit, then took off her sleeping clothes and shuffled through her bags for something new to wear. She had taken to wearing practical clothes, especially when in the field. Her tan shirt matched her brown cargo pants, and the gray photographer's vest went over it, giving her ample freedom in movement, plus all the carrying capacity she needed. Stuffing her sleepwear away, she grabbed her clothes bag and her camera bags, which carried her digital cameras and video recorders which she did most of her work with, plus a very old film camera for emergency purposes.

Swinging the flap of the tent, she got out into the sunlight morning and bedlam. The rumbling sounds that Miriallia heard from her tent were the sounds of several army trucks and armored vehicles revving up and moving away from the base. Miriallia watched soldiers and support personnel run all over the place, frantically attending to their duties. She saw a VTOL descend unto the landing pad at the west side of the base, and watched as a GAT-04 Windham launched from nearby to patrol the skies.

Miriallia started to walk around the camp and scanned the placed, before she found where she could go for more information. The blue custom GINN docked on a GUUL lifter was parked alongside the other mobile suits of the Twenty-First Composite Mobile Platoon, and the photographer could pick out its pilot working on its leg actuators. She had come to trust the members of the team in the few days she had spent here interviewing them, and the Coordinator was the easiest to warm up to and approach. She figured that Scott should know a lot more of what's going, and she decided to take a chance and ask him.

"What's going on, Scott-_san_?" Miriallia asked, as she reached him.

The Coordinator paused before he answered her, looking at the procession with a scared look. "Something's up. We just go word from Division, and they're ordering everyone to full alert."

Miriallia's brows furrowed. "You think it's to start again? The war, I mean."

Scott answered with a nod. "It's inevitable. We've been fighting a war for over two years now, but for most of the last year it's been a stalemate, with the Earth Alliance busy fighting ZAFT. But with the end of that war and the assassination –" Scott gestured at the procession of vehicles.

"Yeah. Now there's nothing to stop the EA from focusing its efforts on you." Miriallia glanced towards the city of Manaus, to the west of this USSA Army encampment. "So what are you guys gonna do about it?"

Scott grinned down at her. "You know I can't say anything about that, Haww-_dono_. But you could figure that out from all the racket going on here."

Miriallia nodded. She knew that Scott couldn't divulge classified information on their operations, especially to the media. But from what she was seeing, it was plain to see what was going to happen.

War. _Again_.

"So when are you heading out?"

Scott stopped and scanned the northern horizon of the Brazilias, where the Atlantic Federation military were waiting to pounce on them. "Soon."

Silence fell between them. Miriallia took this chance to look over the Scott's mobile suit. It look like a standard, first generation ZGMF-1017 model, the bane of the Earth Alliance forces in the first year of the First War. Miriallia could still remember those days - her quiet and sheltered existence as engineering student in Heliopolis Colony shattered by surprise attack of ZAFT's La Crueset Team, aiming to steal the prototype OMNI Enforcer mobile suits that the supposedly neutral nation of Orb was secretly making for that power. She could remember the fear she felt that day, as she and her friend were almost killed after being caught in the middle of a mobile suit battle between a GINN like this one and Morganraete's GAT-X105 Strike, only to watch in wonder as the prototype, piloted by her good friend Kira, save them all.

That battle was the beginning of Miriallia's journey through the war and her dawning into adulthood. She experienced a lot of things during her months serving in the Archangel, meeting new lifelong friends, and losing loved ones as well.

She still could see Tolle's face. Her boyfriend would have been a good man had he not become one of the victims of the battlefield. She could still remember his kindness and wit, his dedication to his duty, his courage to fight for his friend as Kira had. When he died she thought she would go insane, driven by the madness to avenge her boyfriend's death, and to seek out the death of one of those who helped killed him.

But Fate had other plans for her. At the moment she was about to thrust the knife into the Coordinator boy's chest, she fortunate that another friend, Sai Argyle, was there to stop her from turning into what she detested the most, a killer. Had Sai not been there, then should have had the Coordinator boy's blood in her hands.

_That Coordinator boy…_

It was ironic that their meeting could lead to something that she thought to be positive, although fleeting. He had been the enemy, an ally of those who hunted them down and killed Tolle. But outside the cockpit of his mobile suit, Miriallia found Dearka to be another person - although still sarcastic and foolhardy, he could be sensitive and mature when he wanted too. And be caring too.

And he did care for her - he did look after and protected her in waning months of the war, first probably out of guilt for being a conspirator in Tolle's death, but eventually there was something mutual between them. Dearka never openly admitted it, but Miriallia felt that he stuck around because he felt something for her, as much as she felt something growing in her for him. Miriallia wanted to explore these things during the time they spent after the war, and she thought the mutual trust and feelings between the former enemies could blossom into something more.

But things weren't meant to be. Miriallia, after being exposed to the harsh realities of life and war, wanted to do something about. She figured by being a photographer, she could expose the rest of the world to those realities, and they could learn from those mistakes and never commit them again. And she imagined that Dearka would support her, and go with her on her journeys.

And he did support her. He applauded her noble goal in life. But eventually she learned that he couldn't go with her. He had other things he felt he needed to do, first and foremost was to return to the PLANTs and re-enlist. He felt he needed to be in the military to guide them along the true path, and not to stray into war once more.

So they went on there separate ways, but their parting wasn't peaceful. To use her own words, she literally "kicked" Dearka out of her life. They had quarreled that night, both arguing why the other should acquiesce to the needs of the other. In the Miriallia had enough, and, while crying all her sadness out from within her, she dragged Dearka out of her place and told him screaming to never come back. She risked seeing Dearka's grim face from under all her tears, hating him more for showing that he didn't care. But maybe it was her imagination playing, or the wetness of her eyes playing tricks on her vision, but she seemed to see tears coming from the boy's own eyes, as he turned his back on her and walked away into the night.

Things were never the same for them after that night. She packed her bags after saying hurried goodbyes with her confused and worried friends. She only said that she had been given her first assignment as a photographer, that much was true, but she didn't need to leave at once – and she had to go. She left explaining about Dearka in the air. She never explained anything eversince.

For almost two years she journeyed the world, coming to conflict areas that even though not as widespread as the last world war, was just as brutal and bloody. She spent a lot of that time here in the USSA, and was here when the rebellion started. She always came back here between assignments for the major networks, working freelance to document the horrors South America was undergoing.

During those two years, Miriallia came into contact with a lot of people: from the simple folk living out quiet lives, from military men who fought and died for country and cause, from low-life scum who exploited the suffering and profited from it, to powerful politicians whose ideals and self-righteousness were primary catalyst for the suffering of those they supposedly serve.

And from the diversity of cultures, Miriallia came to form new friendships, and even was exposed to friendly attempts to develop more lasting, or intimate, relationships. She endured to through all of them, and expertly avoided getting stuck in their webs. Miriallia first thought that it would be easier not to be committed, especially with people who could die in an instant in these war-torn lands. But though she denied it, Miriallia also knew it was because of the memories of the two men who made a difference in her life, her young boyfriend who died courageously to help protect her and their friends, to the former Coordinator who cared for her so much, but was driven by a noble yet potentially violent cause that she couldn't see her supporting and caring about.

Even after the Second War, during the few days that the Terminal group had met with those from ZAFT who supported their fight against Gilbert Dullindal's Destiny Plan, Miriallia did everything she could to avoid him. Dearka was there, second in command of Yzak Joule's forces, standing nobly in that green uniform, participating actively in the post-war diplomacy between the factions. He looked more matured than before, and from what she head and saw a lot more quiet and introspective. He looked better and friendlier with his Terminal compatriots, but all together avoiding her too, as much as she avoided him.

She felt pain from his ignoring her, something she could explain nor accept. Maybe she had hurt Dearka that much - she couldn't know, nor did she have the courage to find out. But deep inside she wanted to know, but could get herself the courage to see him, to see his hurt face.

So once more she left, and once more she found herself here in the jungles of South America. As she watch and listened to news about the activities of some of her Terminal friends to keep the peace, she kept to herself, not calling on them to keep in touch. She felt her full attention had to be focused with everything that's happening in this war this time around. She felt something was different to this new phase in this conflict. As if the fate of humanity was hanging upon what will happen here.

* * *

They came from the north, the sword point of a massive force moving forcefully through the heavens. The four GAT-02L2+AQM/E-A4E1 Dark Daggers were flying along at three top level, away from the main force of over three hundred tactical fighters and mobile suits aggressively patrolling over the area near the north bank of the River, thus attracting the sizable USSA mobile forces to shadow their movements. The nap of the earth flying was to avoid detection of air defense radars the USSA deployed with their anti-aircraft missile artillery. Intelligence indicated one of such radar sets positioned on a hilltop coming within five miles of their flight path, but the attack group was relaying on the darkness and the ground cover to mask their approach.

Their target was not military, but still essential to the war making capabilities of the USSA rebels. At the river harbor near Manaus, lies the USSA last functioning oil refinery and depot. With a capacity of over five hundred million barrels of military grade crude, the Manaus depot was the primary supply point for the USSA Army's conventional forces. With the blockade of the major shipping lanes into the USSA held territories, the USSA had been hoarding all the fuel they could keep for use in war by their forces.

The six months of low intensity conflict had decrease the fuel consumption of the Army, but a full-scale war could eat up the hoarded supplies in a matter of three weeks of sustained heavy fighting. So it was of strategic importance for the USSA to protect the depot to assure their ability to fight in a short war, as it was of strategic importance for the EA to destroy the depot to eliminate the conventional forces of the USSA.

The squadron was tasked to totally destroy the facility and was prepared for it. The Jet Windams carried four Mk785 five hundred fifty pound smart bombs with one hundred twenty-five pound high explosive warheads, weapons designed to penetrate reinforced bunkers fifty feet deep underground, which would be devastating against massive but thin-skinned oil depots. The charges will ignite the depot contents into a great conflagration, eliminating the precious fuel in a matter of hours.

The mission seemed simple enough, but the approach wasn't. The USSA had deployed a sizable air-defense force around the facility, including mobile missile launcher tracks armed with the Mk439 Wurger anti-aircraft missiles. Intelligence also placed a small mobile suit base nearby, ready to scramble its mobile suits to intercept them. But their mission planning had taken this into account, and tasked assets to deal with these threats. And by their mission clocks, their allies were about to engage those threats in a matter of minutes.

* * *

"So you got it hot-wired huh?" Miriallia asked Scott.

The brown haired coordinator looked at her quizzically. "What do you mean?"

Miriallia pointed at the weapons on the right hand of GINN and the GUUL. "Those Type 71s. You got them working?"

Scott scratched the stubble growing underneath her skin. "How'd you know about mobile suit weapons?"

Miriallia had to grin to that. "Long story," she replied non-commitantly. The Coordinator had the grace not to ask about it.

Miriallia wanted to say something else, but the sudden blaring of sirens all over the base caused her to stop in shock. She saw Scott look towards the north, before he turned to her, face ashen in fear. "_Get down!_"

Miriallia didn't know what was happening, except that she felt Scott's body over her as both fell to the down. She started to protest, but her voice was drowned out by the whining of jet engines and the streaking of high explosive rounds. Miriallia felt the ground shake as explosions blanketed the ground around her. She heard more blasts, and screams as other personnel died being cut down.

The loud noise of the attack died as quickly as it came, and she felt Scott lift himself over her. He knelt above her, and she struggled to stand and see what had happened. At first the dust had blinded her view, but as it settled Miriallia saw the first view of the carnage the sudden attack had dealt them. Several bodies lay mutilated and dead, while some gravely injured people were crying out in agony. A couple of tanks were burning, and a GAT-01 Strike Dagger had toppled over, riddled by large bullet holes, and crushing several tents in the process. Fires were scattered everywhere, and people were just shaking off the shock and reacting to the attack.

Miriallia wanted to run and help with the victims, but Scott held her back and pushed her away from the carnage. "Get to safety now! That Alliance fighter is gonna make another attack run. Get away and _go_!" As of to validate Scott's claim, she saw a clam-shaped figure darting down from the darkening sky, bearing down on them. A USSA GAT-02L2 Dagger L was firing at it with its beam rifle, the green beams casting an eerie aura in the darkness. The enemy fighter pulled up before it could make an attack run, and Miriallia felt that she was safe for the moment.

She risked a glance at Scott, and saw him climbing into the cockpit of the blue GINN. He saw her looking and waved. Miriallia returned his wave with a nod and thumbs up, before she darted off towards one of the bomb shelters built around the base.

Scott tracked the orange-haired photographer as she disappeared into the shelter. He felt relieved that she was safe and out of the exposed danger zone. He jumped inside his cockpit, and began to strap himself into the seat. The alert status of the base had him wearing his flight suit all day, and he was grateful for that. As soon as he was pat on the seat, Scott began the boot up sequence for the GINN's main computer, and the main screen and instrumentation flared into life. He scanned the area once, and found the rest of the team save for William, was now on their mobile suits, and ready for battle. Scott opened his comlink to his commander for orders.

Michael Ward looked pensive, underneath his black flight helmet. "We're tracking two Euclids, backed up by four Spearheads." The TS-MB1B Euclid was the newest, mass produced, atmospheric combat mobile armor that the EA was fielding, heavy armed with beam weapons and cannons and mounting a positron reflector like the new mobile armor designs, but as fast and maneuverable as standard F-7D Spearhead fighters. They were powerful opponents, and two would be a hard fight for the four mobile suits of the Twenty-First Platoon. That they were deployed to attack them meant that this was a major threat, a possible opening salvo of the larger offensive the USSA was preparing contingencies for.

"We're going up?" Scott asked, although he knew it was a useless question.

"_Hai_, but just the three of us," Michael replied. "William's Strike Dagger bought it, but he wasn't onboard and he's safe. He's sitting this one out."

Scott saw the fallen mobile suit, bullet holes smoking as it lay on it back on the ground. It didn't really change their chances - the Strike Dagger was not flight capable without a Striker Pack, which was not designed for that type of mobile suit. But with an enemy like a Euclid, they needed all the help they could get.

Scott checked the systems of the GINN. His mobile suit looked intact, with no major damage except for some armor hits on its shoulder and the GUUL lifter system. All in all he was lucky that his ride wasn't badly hit, and fully flight and battle capable. He goosed power into the lifter, and felt the mobile suit shake and soon settled as it lifted out slowly off the ground. As he climbed into the air, he oriented the GINN to the direction of the enemies' last position. He began tracking the skies with his targeting computer, and it tagged six bogies, all out of range of his installed weapons.

Michael's black and red Windam flew on his left, and the two mobile suits joined up with Gunny's Dagger L, who was already engaging the enemy from long range, trying to keep them from closing in on the base. As they approached the other mobile suit, their friend lifted off from the ground and took his place on the Windam's left. Scott listened as he gave orders to his wingman. "Gunny, go around their left and draw those fighters away. I'll go after the mobile armors. Scott, cover me." Scott saw the Dagger L bank sharply eastward, while Michael launched his mobile suit forward. Scott followed at his back, and dropped his started to track the first Euclid with his HUD crosshairs.

At the pull of his primary triggers, Scott fired off a volley of beams from the twin Type 71 beam rifles he custom built unto his modified GUUL subflight lifter. Though his aim was true, his attack was rendered ineffective by the quick parry from the Euclid's positron reflector; the shimmering energy shield absorbing the force of the green beams. Scott continued to batter the mobile armor with a continuous barrage, but the reflector absorbed all of his attempts. It did, however, allowed Michael to approach it unhindered, and the black Windam got in close enough to use its saber. But the positron reflector once again bore the brunt of the attack, and Michael failed damage the body. An angry burst from one of the Euclid's autocannon forced Michael to back off.

Scott saw that Gunny managed to get the Spearheads to chase him, and they were now rocketing away towards the east. One fighter managed to draw a lock on the Dagger L, and two air-to-air missiles soon streaked after the mobile suit. But a hard Immelman maneuver put Gunny in a position to shoot them with his M2M5 "Todesshrecken" CIWS, and the subsequent explosion covered Gunny's new evasion pattern. The Spearheads turned to avoid the cloud of fire and debris at the last second, but one was caught in the edge and blew out an engine, as particles were sucked into its intakes and fatally damaged its powerplant. The Spearhead slowly dove towards the ground to its death, but not before the pilot managed to eject.

Scott wanted to see what had become of his friend's remaining pursuers, but he and Michael had problems of their own. The other mobile armor had joined up with the Euclid they were fighting, and the Coordinator knew that the danger to him and Michael had just doubled. Both EA armors opened up on them with the large, twin M464 "Degtyarev" high-energy beam cannons, and four angry lances flared between the GINN and the Windam.

Scott pulled hard to his right, banking his GINN away from the terrible fire. He could feel the mobile suit protest the stresses it was taking, as the GINN struggled to compensate with the extra weight and drag from the subflight lifter. His consciousness was also fighting the stress, as G-forces was pulling blood from the upper parts of his body. The temperature in the cockpit rose briefly as another powerful beam flew dangerously close to the mobile suit. Scott risked a glance at his six, and found that the Euclid was gaining on him fast.

Studying his options, he knew his chances of surviving a one-on-one fight with the Euclid were very slim. The mobile armor just outgunned and out sped him, and the positron deflectors rendered whatever he threw at it useless. He had to think of something quick, or he was a definite goner.

Then he saw it, his last and probably his best, though reckless chance to get out of this alive. Scott pulled back on his stick and climbed as fast as he could, rising to the maximum height he could push the GINN to. The Euclid was slow in reacting, passing the point where Scott pulled up, and lost some of the distance gained as it rose after him. From what he saw of the maneuvering of the Euclid, Scott saw that he had a good chance.

As he reached a height of eight thousand feet, Scott dove sharply at a one hundred sixty-degree straight angle, and pushing his throttle to the max. Once more the Euclid dove after him, and was now launching everything at him. Scott felt impacts from the Euclid's fire hit the GUUL's surfaces, and felt the GUUL resist his control. Damage indicators reported hits on the GINN also, but with the GINN dropping down at terminal velocity, Scott didn't care about the damage he was taking. All of his thoughts were now on the pursuing mobile armor, and the rapidly growing canopy of the rain forest.

In seconds the altimeter was now at fifteen hundred feet, and the ground was now dangerously close. But Scott did not waver in his high-speed dive, and in milliseconds he knew it was time. He pushed a release button on his console, just as another explosion signaled the death of one of the GUUL's engines..

At a thousand feet from the canopy, explosive bolts erupted at the GINN was released from the GUUL. As soon as he felt the feet of the mobile suit jump free from the clamps, Scott fired off the back pack thrusters of the GINN, hoping to gain momentum and slingshot the mobile suit away from the doomed lifter. The GINN shot forward, and Scott was pressed to the back of his seat by the sudden lurch. The cockpit rocked violently as the mobile suit struck the canopy, slicing off unevenly the tops of the trees like a blunt power saw. Scott grabbed out with the GINN's hand to slow down the hard ride, and barely brought the mobile suit to a stop, lying on a bunch of toppled trees.

A split second later the GUUL made impact with the canopy, shattering the tops of trees as it continued to plummet downward with its remaining kinetic force. The GUUL damaged surfaces could not resist the stress, and the lifter disintegrated from the collision with the branches. The remaining engine exploded, and the force detonated the energy capacitors of the battery and the beam weapons. The explosion knocked trees down, and started fires all around a newly made clearing.

The Euclid saw what had happened to the GINN, and tried to pull out of its own dive. But it was too late, for the speed of its own dive coupled by the aerodynamics of the design had decreased its ability to maneuver out of the dangerous maneuver, and sealed its own fate as the GUUL. The Euclid activated its forward reflectors at the last minute, just as its struck the canopy itself, and quickly plowed into the ground. Though the reflector held, the rear part of the mobile armor was left unprotected, and the engines crumpled and blew up from the jarring impacts, as parts of falling trees struck the mobile armor. A massive fire broke out from behind the Euclid, and most of the rear parts was ripped away as the Euclid slid to a stop.

Shaking the pain he was feeling all over his sore body, Scott knew he won this round, but he was out of the fight from here on. He knew he had played his part, but with the lifter gone, he couldn't get airborne anymore. He could still fight on the ground, but with the enemy in the skies, all he could do was support Michael and Gunny from afar. Scott dropped the GINN to the ground, the soil rocking as the heavy machine made contact with the surface. Scott began to walk the GINN to the direction of the base, carefully avoiding the trees and obstacles in the rain forest. He had just reached a clearing overlooking the camp when frantic calls from Gunny reached it.

"_Frak_! This was all a decoy! They're heading for the river from the northeast!"

Instantly, Scott faced to the direction Gunny indicated, and watched in horror as he saw the danger his friend was warning them about. Four black shapes were flying to the direction of the city, on a course that would put it right on top of a nearby oil depot.

* * *

The Dark Daggers were now in the clear. Even though several of their escorts were lost, including a Euclid that was defeated by a lone, obsolete GINN, there was no longer any plausible threat to them as they neared their target. All they had to avoid was missile defenses, but the suddenness of their decoy attack, plus the presence of other threats, had kept the attention of the USSA air defense away from them.

Soon the four where in range, and activated their targeting systems. In a second they had their aiming points, signals from laser designators painted on the targets by ground special forces who had infiltrated the USSA lines for this specific mission. At a distance of four hundred feet away and a thousand feet above, the Dark Daggers launched their payload.

Sixteen Mk785s launched quietly from the bomb racks, physics thrusting them forward. The laser guidance systems adjusted their flight paths, using extending flaps on the back of the bombs for minute course corrections. The bombs were traveling at the speed of four hundred knots, and were almost undetectable in the darkness. It took the sixteen weapons five seconds to reach their targets.

A second before impact, rocket boosters on the bombs ignited, thrusting the weapons deep into the soft skinned targets on its steep angles. The weapon pierced the oil tanks at its top, and jet through the crude and struck the bottom. Force pushed the weapon another twenty five feet into the concrete foundations, and it ruptured the tanks all around. When it reached this depth, the igniter fuse on the warhead flashed, and detonated the explosives on the bomb. The sudden fire ignited the crude, starting an inferno heralded by the loud BANG of the explosion. All the tanks erupted in this manner, causing a massive fire only scene in an angry volcano, and rocking the surrounding area in a shockwave equal to several nuclear explosions. Everyone within the refinery and its environs died, either instantly from the explosions, or burned in the inferno the followed.

The fires spread along the oil lines, and exploded several buildings in the outlying suburbs of Manaus. People living in these areas were killed as their homes and establishments burned down in a man-made Hell of war. Several thousands died or were burned from this brutal attack, heralding the start of another wave of tears and anguish from the war weary South Americans.

* * *

Miriallia watched in horror as the red haze from the flames illuminated the darkness of the skies from the direction of the city of Manaus. She stood motionless, thinking of those who had died and were suffering in the hell the city was going through, and what portents the mass of metal demons flying by would bring. Miriallia closed her eyes as tears began to fall from them, and wished to see no more.

* * *

_**LHM-BB01 Minerva**_

_**Outbound Gibraltar**_

_**North Atlantic**_

_**January 3, CE 75 **_

But someone else was opening her eyes. Slowly she sees the light of reality once more. From her land of troubled dreams she awakens to the world of suffering and life, as the bare spirit of her living struggled to gain back her strength. But as Hitomi Minamoto came back from her brush with death, the first thoughts on her mind brought her back to the agony of her tragedy.

"Leva…"

And she cried – cursing her life; cursing the fact that he had to kill the boy that troubled her dreams.

* * *

"Is it ready?"

Youlan cocked his head to one side. "_Hai_. Gibraltar's done everything they could with it, _Kanchou_. They said it was lucky the parts were mostly intact when it was decapitated. The slice points on the limbs were so clean it was almost _clinical_. Most of the internals were waterlogged, but they finally got around replacing them. They upgraded some of the systems and modified parts of the chassis; all we need is to get its pilot working on it." The tech checked something from his tablet PC. "It'll be ready, Ma'am."

Jane Devereux nodded grimly. "It better be. Where we're going, we'll need all the help we can get."

* * *


	12. Phase Eleven

_**Author's Notes:**_

_Once more I thank everyone who had read this fanfiction and those who reviewed it. Again I am glad that you have come to like my tale and I will do my best to present the story as best as I could. Thanks to a new craving for anime, I have been re-watching some of my favorite series, like Full Metal Alchemist, Rurouni Kenshin and the other Gundam series. Of course I included Gundam SEED and Destiny, and hopefully I've picked up some more new tidbits of information I can apply in Renaissance. This new chapter is a quiet one, not too action intensive as the last few. A calm-before-the-storm thing, to let the characters catch up with events that are happening in the story._

_I will be introducing a new mobile suit in this chapter, a Gundam SEED revision of another of the older UC models. It's an idea I toyed around for awhile and I reckoned this chapter is the best entry point for it. Like I said, it is a Universal Century model, so there won't be any comeback for any of the SEED models in SEED and Destiny yet, though, as hinted on the last chapter, that option remains very much open in the future. It is the first of a few UC models I am integrating into the CE storyline. I hope I could do it justice like the way or even better than the ZAKU, GOUF and DOM were portrayed. There is an interesting note on Wikipedia's Gundam SEED Mobile Suit and Armor section that hints about the appearance of this mobile suit in Destiny during the Junius Seven arc, but the Wikipedia article itself was empty and therefore inconclusive. I have checked my copies of the anime and have yet to see it there. I might be mistaken, but I have not seen any evidence supporting this claim._

_Also, I have more Shiho Hanenfuss for you all. Among the minor canon characters in SEED and Destiny, I find her the most intriguing and I intend to have her play a more important role in our story. Through my own research on her, I'm finding a lot more interesting things about her. Like it is said in Wikipedia, it was fortunate for the character that Tamaki Nami never got to give her a voice, or she could have been killed off like the characters TM Revolution portrayed, Miguel Ayman of SEED and Heine Westenfluss of Destiny. So, for you Shiho fans out there, be rejoiced. But please be patient on how I might portray her. I don't have copies of Astray so I don't really now how she acts or speaks._

_I also would like to address certain comments about my using formal military ranks for ZAFT officers, when it is stated in reference materials that the militia did not use such ranks, except for titles accorded to their current positions. I only used the rank system, based on the ones used by the EA and Orb militaries (which is basic to most real militaries in our real world) for the purpose of uniformity in the narrative. I find it not realistic for a military hierarchy, even that of a militia, to not have a rank system to distinguish the positions and levels of their personnel and officers. Although ZAFT uses the color-coded uniform system, I think giving formal ranks makes things less complicated for readers. Again this maybe different from the canon, but I don't think it affects the story that much. _

_Once more thanks for reading this fanfiction, and I hope you enjoy this new chapter. _

_SEED Mode On!

* * *

_

_**Disclaimers: **_

_Mobile Suit Gundam SEED is owned and copyrighted by Mitsuo Fukuda, the Sotsu Agency, Sunrise and BANDAI.

* * *

_

**Phase 11: In The Minds Of Altered Children

* * *

**

_**LHM-BB01 Minerva**_

_**Outbound Gibraltar**_

_**North Atlantic**_

_**January 3, CE 75 **_

The sound of fitful sobs instantly tore Rena from the romance novel she was reading. She has been taking turns with Madison and the _Taichou_, rotating their duty shifts to spend time and watch over Hitomi as she lay quietly in the canopied hospital bed inside Minerva's sickbay. The three had set up their routine to allow for six hours each for staying with their wounded friend, another six for maintenance on their mobile suits and other duties, four hours standby with their mobile suits, and eight hours rest and sleep.

At first it was a confusing setup, what with the chaos the marked the activities on the _Minerva_ crew in the aftermath of the disastrous raid by the black mobile suits that Luna-_Taichou_ and Hitomi battled over and on Gibraltar. The results were alarming for ZAFT: twenty-seven militiamen and security personnel dead, plus over fifty civilians who were caught in the crossfire. Over a hundred more injured. One mobile suit and several military vehicles destroyed, plus two more mobile suits damaged (one, Rena's own, was taken out of action in that catapult mishap, and it didn't even get the chance to fight).

But, for Rena, it was looking like the greatest loss for ZAFT in this defeat was not in the final battleground, but at the initial point of conflict. From what little Luna-_Taichou_ had heard and shared with her and Madison, the raiders had hit a section of the main university in Gibraltar prior to the engagement with ZAFT units. The targeted building held offices of a major R&D think-tank funded by the PLANT Council, with research pertaining to military technologies. As to what kinds of technologies, the Taichou didn't find out, but for the raiders to even consider that target so close to a major ZAFT base, meant that the reward would justify the risks.

And the _Minerva_ was in the position to thwart their plan, had their own plans didn't get screwed up. Rena knew that the Kanchou and the command staff were not pinning the blame on the catastrophic failure of the _Minerva's_ launch catapult and the ensuing damage in caused on the ship, but she still could not help feel guilty for the injuries Hitomi had sustained in her duel with the raiders. She had waited nervously for news from Madison as she and reinforcements from the Gibraltar forces moved to backup the Impulse and Hitomi's ZAKU. She had started to shed tears of joy when she heard that they recovered Hitomi from the wreck of her ZAKU, but those turned to anguish when she found out how badly hurt her friend was.

And the feelings of guilt wasn't leaving her as she watched her friend lay in front of her in the past few days. Hitomi's left leg was badly burned, and there was a deep gash that slid down on her right. Her arms were covered in cuts and bruises, as was some parts of her face. Hitomi's forehead was bandaged, covering the deep wound that marred her soft and white skin. The young girl's breathing was ragged, and was gingerly supported by the respirator now covering her nose and mouth. She looked so fragile being so near death when the rescue teams got her out of the downed mobile suit.

So for her friend's sake, Rena endured the tiring routine, even though exhaustion mixed with boredom of staying at one place was eating at the otherwise active, free-spirited girl. But Rena had to endure this penance she chose to self-inflict on herself; she could not leave her friend, and wanted to stay at her side. She owed Hitomi at least that much; Hitomi was always with her during their days in the Academy. Hitomi was a big part of her life in that period, always looking out for her. Rena knew deep inside that she wouldn't have graduated into ZAFT's officer corps, much less become a red coat, had it not for Hitomi's patience and help to overcome her cadette-days high-jinks.

Rena was starting her third hour of her sickbay bedside shift, when she heard Hitomi stir. Instinctively she bolted out of her chair by the door of the room, and dashed to Hitomi's side. The raven-haired girl was crying, with tears flowing rapidly down from her eyes. She didn't show any signs that she had already awaken from her slumber, and the new activity added to Rena's anxiety.

"Hitomi! HITOMI!" Rena shouted as she tried to calm her friend down. She punched a button on one leg of the canopy to call for the ship's nurse, who was currently at the sickbay's station. The nurse came rushing into the room in a second, and was beginning to check Hitomi's vitals. Rena turned her attention back to Hitomi and hugged her, hoping her presence can soothe the pain and tension her friend was going through.

Apparently it helped, and a few seconds later Hitomi's eyes opened, and she slowly looked around to take in her surroundings. Her gaze fell upon her worried friend. "Rena?" she croaked, her voice dry and trembling.

Her head still buried on Hitomi's chest, Rena breathed a sigh of relief and offered a silent prayer of thanks. "Oh, Hitomi, thank goodness you're back." She slowly slid off her friend, her blonde hair soaked in tears. She pulled her chair close to the bed, and flopped down. She took Hitomi's hand in hers, and placed them on her cheeks.

Hitomi still looked confused at all the fuss around her, as the nurse adjusted the machine that was monitoring her heart. "W-where am I?"

"Sickbay, _Shou-I_," the nurse smiled down at her. "I'm glad you're back with us." She turned her attention to Rena. "She's fine. I'll be back with the doctor in awhile."

"_Hai. Arigato_." Rena stood and bowed as the nurse left them alone once more. Feeling the weight of the world being lifted from her shoulders, Rena fell to her knees at the side of the bed, and buried her face on Hitomi's arm. She felt her friend flex the arm and caress her hair. "Rena, what's wrong?"

"_Gomen_," was all Rena could say.

"What are you apologizing for?" her friend replied confusedly.

"For screwing up…"

"I don't understand-"

Rena started crying again. "For causing all the mess on the launch bay. The catapult just gave way from under me. I couldn't launch, Hitomi. I couldn't back you up."

There was a long moment of silence, as Hitomi stroked her hair a couple of times before speaking again. "_Iie_. That wasn't your fault, Rena-_chan_."

Rena dared to look at her friend, and was rewarded by seeing her smiling at her. "But if I was up there with you, I could have helped you and _Taichou_. But because of me, I couldn't launch and Maddy was delayed. You wouldn't have been hurt. You wouldn't have been here."

Hitomi shook her head. "I don't think things would have changed. I still would have fought that black mobile suit. I still would have fought him. I don't know, but I think it was _meant to be_."

It was Rena's turn to be confused. "I don't -"

Hitomi smiled again. "Believe me, I don't understand what I'm saying either. I just have this feeling that I was _predestined_ to fight him."

"_Him_?" Rena asked, eyes squinting.

But Hitomi ignored her. "Anyhow nothing would have changed. I'm just lucky I'm alive I guess." Hitomi closed her eyes wearily. "I guess I gonna spend time here at the beach."

Rena knelt straighter. "I don't think that'll be the case, Hitomi-_chan_."

"Huh?"

Rena smirked. "Don't you feel the movement of the ship? We've already left Gibraltar. I don't know the details, but we're on our way south. We've been assigned to pursue the raiders."

* * *

Hitomi sat back on the headrest of her bed as she listened to Devereux-_Kanchou_ speak to her. She came in after the doctor had arrived, together with Luna-_Taichou_. The doctor had given her a good prognosis, saying that her wounds were healing well and she'll be back to normal in a few days. She was lucky that she didn't get any of her limbs destroyed or cut off, and that they will be all functioning in tip top condition once she was released from sickbay. She only had to do a little more exercise to get her in shape again, and to strengthen her healing muscles. Silently she was thankful for her Coordinator genes, whose enhancements allowed for greater resistances and healing capacity for her body.

The _Kanchou_ spoke to the doctor for a few minutes before he left the room with the nurse, and left the four women in the room. Rena stayed in the background, content to keep silent. The _Kanchou_ gave Hitomi a look over before she spoke. "I'm glad that you're alright, _Shou-_I Minamoto. You took great risks back in Gibraltar."

Hitomi lowered her head a little. "_Gomen nasai, Kanchou_," she apologized. "I know I was too reckless."

Devereux shook her head. "On the contrary, Hitomi-_chan_, you did the best you could do in the situation."

"But, _Kanchou_, I failed the mission, didn't I?" Hitomi asked weakly. "The raiders got away."

"_Hai_," Devereux responded. "The fact that it was a failure does not diminish the fact that you and _Tai-I_ Hawke tried your best to stop them, at incredible risks to your lives." Devereux nodded to Luna-_Taichou_, and Hitomi's team commander responded with a silent nod of her own. "I saw no mistakes on both your parts. Circumstances happened to make your mission goals unattainable for you."

Hitomi glanced at her silent friend. "If you mean it was Rena's fault the catapult collapsed, then I protest-"

"_Iie_," Devereux raised her hand to stop her. "_Shou-I_ Ellington is not at fault with what happened down at the launch bay. It was a structural fault in the system that caused the catapult to buckle and crash. We are still investigating it, but we see no fault in her actions."

Hitomi felt relieved in her friend exoneration. For her part, Rena dropped unto a chair like a sack of potatoes, sighing heavily.

"_Arigato_ then, _Kanchou_. But it still doesn't change the fact that we failed and the raiders got away."

Devereux took a seat on the visitor's chair, and activated her PDA. "We are currently in pursuit of the raiders. Though we still have no, clear knowledge on how they intend to escape through the Atlantic, we have our ideas."

"We believe that they're using a submarine carrier, of a class we have not encountered before. We are basing this assessment from information we received military intelligence, and reports gathered by our embassy at Orb. The submarine angle matches the profile of the raiders that hit Onogoro on the seventeenth of December."

"We think this is the best information we have at the moment, plus the fact that the unknown vessel the _Leningrad_ in the South Pacific made short contact with matches the mission profile of an unknown class of submarine carrier. The _Leningrad_ lost contact almost immediately, but had determined that the contact was heading east, towards the continent of South America."

Hitomi thought that one over. "The USSA."

"Correct," Devereux confirmed. "The assessments indicate that is the likely direction where the Gibraltar team is headed, though we cannot confirm it at the moment."

"But South America is a huge place-" exclaimed Hitomi.

Devereux sighed wearily, and Hitomi could see that her _Kanchou_ had been asked that question in the manner Hitomi did before, and she was getting tired with it. "We'd considered that factor, but for now we don't have anything clear on it. But we consider the South America lead our best one yet, and headquarters has assigned the _Minerva_ to it."

"The doctor said you'll be allowed to leave sickbay in a day or two, but you're off from the flight rotation for at least a week." Devereux looked Hitomi in the eye. "I want you to rest up while you're on the ground. Concentrate on light workouts, and some simulation time. I don't want to catch you working maintenance on your mobile suit; let the techs handle that for the meantime. _Tai-I _Hawke will determine when you'll be back in the rotation."

Hitomi blinked. _Wasn't my ZAKU all in shreds?_ "_Ano, Kanchou_."

"_Hai, Shou-I_?"

"Forgive me for asking, but isn't my mobile suit, uh, _incapacitated_?"

Devereux's lips twitched, and Hitomi knew she was fighting the urge to grin. "Oh of course. You had your ZAKU shot down from under you."

Hitomi deflated. "_Gomen_."

Luna-_Taichou_ chuckled. "You've got your new unit waiting for you down at the hanger decks, but I agree with the _Kanchou_. I forbid you to work on it till I say so."

_A new unit?_ "Can I at least ask what it is, _Taichou_? The unit, that is."

The _Taichou_ grinned evilly. "_Iie_, you may not." She gave Rena a withering glare. "And I'm not allowing Rena-_chan_ or Madison-_chan_ to say anything about it." Rena, who was about to blurt something out, shut her mouth quickly with a silent apology to Hitomi. "Suffice to say," Luna-_Taichou_ continued, "it's something old and rebuilt, but it's not obsolete. We or Gibraltar currently don't have any new units to give you."

"Oh," Hitomi sighed. _Well, it could have been worse. I could have gotten a run down GINN from some backwater station from the first war_.

Devereux brought something up on her PDA. "I forgot to notify you, _Tai-I_, but you're going to get some help for your team."

Luna-_Taichou_ blinked. "Help, _Kanchou_? From where?"

"The PLANTs," the _Kanchou_ answered. "I've received a package from the Chairwoman. She will be sending us a new unit for field-testing, plus a pilot for it. The pilot's a veteran and will be joining your team. I expect you to integrate them into your command."

The _Taichou_ didn't respond at once, and Hitomi could see that she didn't necessarily like this change of events. "This veteran. What do you know about him, _Kanchou_?"

Devereux frowned. "_Her,_ actually. All I know is that the pilot fought both wars, and had served ZAFT as a test pilot before enlisting. She was a test pilot for some of the mobile suits we use now, and she's one of the best in the militia. She's also knowledgeable of the area, having served there in between the wars. She's currently unassigned, so the Chairwoman decided that she'll be more useful with us than being kept on floating status. She's the best one for that new unit tell be asking us to field-test."

The _Taichou_ grimaced. "Why us, _Kanchou_?"

"Because you do understand that with these raiders, we need all the help we could get." Devereux stood up. "We only beat them up in space because the _Shousho_ Yamato and the _Archangel_ had already softened them up for us, and we had the element of surprise. The events in Gibraltar, shows us that they are indeed a formidable enemy, and we can't underestimate them."

Luna-_Taichou_ sighed. "Guess we don't have much choice in the matter, eh, _Kanchou_."

"_Iie_. We don't."

* * *

_**Main Administration Building**_

_**PLANT Supreme Council**_

_**Aprilius One**_

**_Aprilius City_**

**_PLANT_**

_**L5**_

_**January 4, CE 75**_

For the infinite time, Shiho nervously straightened the custom balsam insignia lapel that she had added unto her red ZAFT uniform. She had a very important meeting with very important persons, so she decided she had to look her best. She wore her best set of red officer uniforms that she had, a new set she had recently had tailored. Her former set was destroyed in the Oslo attack, and this new set was just available to her upon her return to the PLANTs two days ago. As her own personal quirk, Shiho had opted to wear the male version of the red uniform, ever since the day she got her promotion to the elite group of red coat pilots. She never warmed to the female version, which had a skirt rather than the pants she wore. She had gotten used to the strange looks she got from wearing them, and she was bothered by them, nor ever convinced to follow the norm.

Technically still on leave, Shiho had argued with ZAFT command as soon as she got back from the colonies two days ago for a reassignment - with Yzak still at the militia's main hospital in this colony, he was not bound to return to active duty either in the Council or the militia, and being part of his staff, Shiho didn't want to be kept on a floating status due to his medical status. While the ZAFT medical offices recommended that she'd take her time and rest up her healing body, she protested and demanded to get a new position. Though she knew that she was going too far, she still hoped that her status as a war heroine and her high rank in Yzak's staff had some weight, and would force the higher ups to reconsider her position. She already heard whispers that her request was going to be denied, but she was adamant she wouldn't take the replies to her query without a fight.

So Shiho was surprised to hear that she was summoned to the office of the Supreme Council Chairwoman for talks with her on a new special posting. The 'special' description of her new assignment was already a warning sign to her, as to the personal summons by the PLANT's highest leader, that this new assignment was something different from before, and therefore, probably sensitive and extremely dangerous. This piqued Shiho's curiosity, and accepted the summons immediately. So here she was now, patiently waiting at the receiving hall of the Chairwoman's office, sitting restlessly in an otherwise very comfortable office sofa, watching the receptionists and other staffers going about their duties, as she waited for her call to enter the inner offices for her audience.

One of the secretaries greeted Shiho as she arrived, and told her that she had to wait till after a meeting with some other bureaucrats before she could see the Chairwoman. Shiho was invited into this waiting area, and was served coffee for her pleasure. She was already into her second hour of waiting, her coffee barely touched, she almost finished with her fourth magazine, and absentmindedly whistling that song she listened too from the new Tamaki Nami Greatest Hits CD she just bought when the secretary walked over to her and bowed.

"_Shousa_ Hanenfuss, the Chairwoman will see you now, Ma'am."

_About time_, Shiho thought impatiently. "_Domo arigato_." Shiho got up from the couch and straightened up her uniform. She picked up her briefcase and walked towards the oaken double doors, which the secretary and a ZAFT corporal opened for her. After returning the salute the young enlisted man gave her, Shiho smartly entered the inner chamber.

The room was very different from the ambience it portrayed for its former occupants. During the time of Patrick Zala and Gilbert Dullindal, the lights of this high-ceilinged chamber were always dimmed and shadowed, leaving an effect that the room was dark and foreboding. Whether it was the preference of the two late Chairmen or the actual design of the chamber, the eeriness left visitors ill at ease and uncomfortable. The one who took up the vacancy of the position the room represented changed all that. Katarina Westenfluss had ordered for more bright lights for the room, and Shiho had been present as technician installed the extra illumination, in one of her visits to Westenfluss with Yzak.

Shiho found the Chairwoman seated behind the large desk at the end of the room. It was the first time after the Onogoro raid that Shiho had seen her. For security reasons the rest of the Supreme Council of the PLANTs decided to evacuate the injured Westenfluss from Scandinavia back to the colonies immediately but quietly. In secret she was flown down unto Gibraltar, and immediately shuttled offworld unto an awaiting _Nazca_-class fast destroyer. Two days later the Chairwoman was recuperating on L4's Armory One, and stayed there until before she returned back to Aprilius on her own power four days ago.

At first glance, it looked to Shiho that the Chairwoman was still feeling the toll from the injuries she received in Oslo. The quick action of her bodyguards saved her life, much in the same way Yzak did to save Shiho and Cagalli. But the guards were less fortunate, as the four in-close security personnel all perished. Westenfluss was also badly hurt, with injuries similar to those Cagalli received, plus having her lungs damage by inhaling the sulfurous smoke from the fires. Though she survived the ordeal, her health was destroyed. She looked no more than the shell of the vibrant young politician she once was, frail and with sunken eyes underneath her purple dress uniform.

Not that it really mattered to Shiho, for she could see that Katarina Westenfluss eyes still had the strength and steel that epitomized her fire and courage. Though her body was not the same, it looked to Shiho that the Chairwoman's intelligence was still there in her working mind, tempered by the wisdom she learned at the brink of death.

Seated in front of the Chairwoman, were two other women, one she knew only by face, the other by her connection to Yzak. Eileen Canaver was the younger of the two, the former interim Chairwoman of the Council who at first retired after Dullindal was voted to replace her. The blonde haired woman returned to a more private life as a professor at September Five's major university for over a year, only to be asked to return by the rest of the Council during the chaos after the battle at _Messiah_. A staunch supporter of the Siegel Clyne and his daughter's faction, Canaver was a known moderate, one known to seek the resolution of crisis through diplomacy and negotiation. But having been a known, yet silent supporter of Lacus' anti-war group, Canaver was capable of secretly supporting any direct action that could lead to a swift conclusion of conflict, albeit her public persona did not show this. So it was a small surprise for Shiho to find the reclusive young stateswoman here.

The other, more elderly woman, Shiho knew a lot better, and in more sense her presence here was more troubling to Shiho. Ezaria Joule was Yzak's mother, the firebrand representative of Martius Six and a former member of the Supreme Council's Committee of National Defense and Chair of the Diplomatic Relations Committee during the terms of Clyne and Patrick Zala. She and the members of this small inner circle of advisers like Yuri Amalfi, Tad Elsman and Herman Gould, reported directly to Zala as his primary supporters within the Council. They were therefore prime movers of ZAFT's campaigns during the first war, and were together with those members who fell unto disgrace with the end of that conflict. Councilwoman Joule was placed under house arrest during the war, and where it not for Yzak assuming her place in the Council at the invitation of Canaver, she would have been charged with even more crimes against her.

She had publicly stayed away from the Council, though she tried vainly to influence her equally hardheaded son to promote her ideas to the Council. Yzak tried his best not too, and this started a conflict between them. Shiho was subject to one of the former Duel pilot's rages against his mother during her first visit to him after her return from the South Americas, spurting curses about 'that power-hungry woman'. This continued on until Yzak was reinstated unto ZAFT's High Command, which had the Councilwoman lose her only direct link to the upper echelons of the PLANT government. Though the rants became rarer as Yzak was assigned to the _Voltaire_ with Dearka Elsman and herself, Shiho could still hear him rage about his mother from time to time.

That Joule was here meant something was changing in the balance of power with PLANT. Though never charged, the consensus on Councilwoman Joule was that she was a warmonger; her active support and participation with Patrick Zala's plan to exterminate the Naturals was a proven fact. Her presence here indicated a deal was brokered somewhere, and that Joule was back in a position where she could be a player. It also signified that Westenfluss' position had weakened somewhere; that she had to agree to a compromise with someone, with Joule as part of the compromise.

The raid on Scandinavia and Gibraltar must have accelerated the shift in the dynamics. Even though it was not obvious, Shiho had seen the increased level of security and alert within ZAFT. While the remaining ZAFT task forces orbiting the PLANTs had not sortied beyond the normal perimeters of the space colonies, almost all of the groups were on a high level defensive alert. All active forces were on standby, and there were rumors some reservists were about to be called up. Shiho knew that some of these were just rumors, but these rumors were slowly spreading with no signs of dying out. But the thing was the lives of the civilians of the colony has not been disturbed by this; things were as normal as it could be around Aprilius One when Shiho took some time to go sightseeing. Shiho was sure something was going on, but she didn't have the time to find out yet.

With these thoughts she faced her civilian superiors. Shiho stopped in the center of the room, standing in attention and giving the three women the stiff armed ZAFT salute. "_Shousa_ Shiho Hanenfuss reporting, Madam Chair."

Westenfluss nodded and smiled in response. "Hello _Shousa_. It's good to see that you are looking well."

Shiho lowered her right hand. "The doctors in Oslo took good care of me, Madam."

Westenfluss lowered her eyes slightly. "Forgive me if I couldn't find time to visit you. I was deemed necessary to be evacuated as soon as possible."

"Oh no, Madam Chair. I understand the necessities, so the apology is not needed. I thank you for your concern though. And I trust you are well, too."

"_Hai_," Westenfluss responded softly. "Not as well as I want too, but things just happened that was beyond our control."

Shiho felt speechless; she didn't know how to respond to the Chairwoman's last comments. So something did change in her.

Westenfluss was the first to break the uncomfortable pause. She gestured her hand to the younger of the two other women. "You do know former Chairwoman Canaver."

Shiho nodded. "We've met once, during the first anniversary celebration of the end of the first war. But we never really got to speak to each other."

Canaver offered her hand with a sincere smile. "I'm glad to finally get the chance to speak with you, _Shousa_. I've heard a lot about your service to the militia and the colonies in the past few years.

_Is that so?_ Shiho thought. She took the proffered hand. "I hope all that you've heard are good ones, Canaver-_sama_."

Canaver chuckled. "Oh don't worry _Shousa_. Ezaria here only told me the _good ones_."

Shiho had to glance reflexively at Yzak's mother, an action she was berated herself for doing. Ezaria Joule had the knack for catching people off guard and making them feel uneasy in front of her. And Shiho was always a special target for her, being a loyal subordinate for her son. But Shiho, ever the fighter, never allowed herself to show Joule any sign that she was affected by her stabs. So she was disappointed with herself for this lapse in self-discipline.

Joule apparently noticed her little victory over her, for a grin was forming at the edge of her lips. She languidly stood up from her chair to greet Shiho. "Shiho-_chan_ here has no reason to be wary. Her service to the colonies has been exemplary, and therefore worthy to be spoken of in such illustrious company."

Shiho didn't let herself be baited by Joule's continued patronizing and her calling her in such a personal manner. She framed her best smile on her face as she bowed to Joule in a formal manner. "Joule-_sama_ is ever kind."

Joule looked her in the eye. "You do know that Yzak is in the military hospital here in Aprilius."

"_Hai_, Joule-_sama_. I intended on visiting him after our meeting. I take it that he's doing well?"

Joule nodded. "He's as good as he could be. I suspect that his temper is tethering on the edge by being cooped up in hospitals for the last few weeks. He'll have his surgery for the cybernetics Tuesday next week."

"I guess the timing for my visit is perfect then," Shiho replied.

"Indeed it is, Shiho-_chan_," Joule agreed. "My son would be delighted to see his favorite officer visit him. I have the feeling it will do Yzak a lot of good," Joule finished, smiling mischievously.

Shiho felt really uncomfortable now. _Why is Ezaria hinting that there is something more between Yzak and me? Where is she going with this?_ Shiho was at a loss of what to say, and Joule was showing satisfaction as her victory over her. Thankfully, the Chairwoman took the opportunity to change the topic of the discussion.

Westenfluss had stood from her seat and walked slowly around her desk. "Since we're all here, I think its best that we proceed to the topics at hand." She gestured for the three to follow her to the pair of sofas that were on one side of the office. She motioned for Shiho to sit, and took a place beside the redcoat. Canaver and Joule sat on the sofa opposite them.

"Some tea or coffee, _Shousa_?" Westenfluss asked.

"Tea would be just fine, Madam Chair."

Westenfluss pressed a button on a control panel on top of the coffee table in front of her, and ordered a receptionist to bring a pot of tea for them. For five minutes the Chairwoman grilled Shiho on her condition, which Shiho answered easily. The receptionist who received Shiho came in with the hot beverage, and deposited the aromatic drinks on the coffee table and left the room as quietly as she came.

As soon as the door slid close behind the receptionist, Shiho saw Westenfluss press some more buttons on the control panel before she turned address everyone. "What we will speak about is matter of national security and will be spoken of only within this room. Do you understand, ladies?"

Everyone nodded.

"Good." Westenfluss faced Shiho. "_Shousa_, you do understand what has happened in Oslo, Onogoro and Gibraltar and its ramifications for the PLANTs?"

Shiho did, or at least she wanted to believe she did. The audacious attacks were a serious blow to the security of the Coordinator colonies. With ZAFT weakened by massive losses in the last war, and the disarmament or mothballing of a sizable portion of its remaining forces in its aftermath, the militia was in no position to prosecute another worldwide conflict, even in a purely defensive stance. The militia could surely defend against terrorist attacks, but such attacks were well planned and all ZAFT could do was react. And if all they did was to react to these raids over and over again, nothing would be gained except the further diminishing of their capabilities. The terrorists, seeing that ZAFT was unwilling to strike out against them, would be strongly tempted to continue on attacking. Though there might be a limit to the scope and duration of these raids, the effect on the morale of the citizens of the PLANTs would still be devastating. What would the people think of a government who has no will or means to defend their citizen effectively from people who want them destroyed? Eventually these terrorists would succeed where Blue Cosmos and LOGOS failed, and could bring the end of the Coordinators.

If in fact, that the PLANTs were the only target of the raids, but the attacks on Onogoro and Oslo begged to undermine that conclusion. The strike on Orb was baffling to Shiho. If Coordinators were the main targets, then the island country could be a high-ranked target in their order of battle. The neutrality stance and its policy of openness for Coordinators to live there make it a tempting prize, but then Orb was not necessarily a friend of the PLANTs in the past few years. With the sudden siding of Orb with the Earth Alliance and the confused disappearance of their pro-neutrality Chief Representative in the aftermath of the Break The World Incident, Orb had gone to war against the PLANTs. Though post-war peace had ended the hostilities between the two states and both has established growing diplomatic relations, they interaction between the two remain only cool. While it was widely accepted that Orb, even with its small but formidable military, will not attempt anything overt, it wasn't beyond the nation to use covert means to protect its security and interests – its status as a major member in the so-called Terminal organization in both wars and its continuing covert support for Terminal was evidence to the fact. So it was not profitable for the terrorists to challenge such a potentially dangerous opponent.

And what would the terrorists gain by attracting the ire of the rest of human world by attacking their leaders in a peace conference? It is obvious that they were against the peace, and their attack on Scandinavia looked like a desperate attempt to derail the process. Or was it a calculated strike on their part, timing the event when most of the powerful leaders of world were present at one place. Again the same question comes up: what would they gain? Were they confident enough to risk the further tightening of bonds between former belligerents and the formation of a united front against them?

Did they want to start another war? Most of the factions involve in the last two are on their last ropes, and Shiho would like to believe that the leadership of all the factions would want to avoid another conflict and concentrate in rebuilding their shattered nations and economies. The PLANTs, for all its prosperity and advances in technology, has had its economy hurt by Dullindal's active prosecution of the second war and preparations for the ill-conceived Destiny Plan. From some estimates that Shiho had seen, and from analysis she had gathered from the colonies' tri-media, the colonies economy would take at least five, or as much as ten years to recover to a level of prosperity enjoyed prior to the Bloody Valentine incident. And this was with the consideration that there would be no war in those coming years. Any new conflict would shatter the thin thread of stability that holds the colonies together.

The same analysis could also be employed for the remnants of the Earth Alliance. The EA would be the best evidence of such a decline of internal stability, for the loose conglomeration of states had been suffering this malaise ever since the start of the First Bloody Valentine War, and those wounds has festered more with the Second. The EA's economy had been strained by their sudden shift to a war economy preceding Bloody Valentine, and was all but destroyed with the worldwide rain of neutron jammers and the ZAFT invasion of Operation Uroboros on the first of April, CE 70. After the signing of the Treaty of Junius Seven, the Eurasian Federation and United States of South America had split from the EA and begun separate peace talks with the PLANTs, which brought forth an influx of Coordinators into their population – a necessary compromise with those they saw as enemies, yet know were recognized for their talents and skill as necessary for the survival of their nations. The powerful Atlantic Federation, the central figure in the EA's war of extermination against the Coordinators, allowed the Eurasians to break away from their grip, but moved violently suppress the South American revolt and occupy the southern continent. They were met by stiff resistance from the USSA's people, and a bloody rebellion has sprung up from within the occupied nation. This conflict raged in the background of post-war geopolitics, and was overshadowed by the coming of the Second Bloody Valentine of CE 73.

Again, Shiho, for all her animosity against the EA, would want to believe that they would not want to start another war. The EA's conflict with the USSA was still going on, and from report she had read or heard, that conflict was escalating in scale once more of late. The assassination of the EA's designated man for the leadership of the occupied sectors of South America plus the subsequent retaliatory strikes by the OMNI Enforcer along the Rio Grande line has brought this war to new, more violent level. But with the great losses the EA had from the Second War, they can ill-afford to get into an extended shooting war on another front. Given that the EA still has massive production infrastructure to allow them to produce the necessary weapons to arm itself for a major conflict, such production was widely hurt in the anti-LOGOS revolts, and would take several years to bear any reasonable fruit, at the expense of its already dying economy. If it would take ten years at the most for the PLANTs to recover its losses, the EA would suffer four times that long.

So to Shiho it looked like it was an obvious attempt to destabilize the PLANTs, but she was concerned why the other powers were targeted as well. Where the terrorist trying to incite another war by these attacks? Could this be a precursor to another bloody war like the Armory One raid and Break The World? If it were that, then Shiho had good reason to be very afraid. "I like to believe I do, Madam Chair. But the attacks leave so many questions left unanswered. I can conclusively say that they are a definite threat to our nation, but why target the other states as well? There's still a lot more underneath all of this, but I do not have any answers to give you about them," she finished uncertainly. "May I know how much we have lost at Gibraltar?"

Westenfluss nodded to Canaver, who brought up another screen of information. "In terms of materiel, our losses were not too great. A good number of men died, but that is not our greatest loss."

Shiho was surprised with her answer. From what she heard of Canaver, she was a person who valued human life above anything else, hence her moderate to pacifist stands during the wars. But for her to comment like that, it meant the other losses were very important and critical. As she took in what she presented, Shiho gasped as the full impact of the losses hit her.

"But this is-"

"_Hai_, Shousa," Canaver confirmed. "You can see how much the terrorists has gained from us. If they ever get to use these technologies, think of the greater danger they can pose."

"What is your opinion on the activities of these terrorists?" Joule was next to ask.

Shiho shrugged. "Forgive me if I decline to answer your question, Joule-_sama_. I am not an intelligence specialist, nor am really I qualified to give such an opinion about that topic. But if you base it on the data they stole and their method of acquiring them, it easy to say that they are ambitious and dangerous in their operations."

"You are a engineering specialist," remarked Canaver. "You line of specialization is in mobile suit and military beam technologies."

"_Hai_," Shiho responded. "I was part of the design team and a civilian test pilot for the CGUE Deep Arms development program."

Canaver smiled. "You were part of the team that reverse engineered the captured beam weapons from the G-Project mobile suits and integrated them to the CGUE Deep Arms prototypes."

"This was before I enlisted, yes." Shiho confirmed.

Canaver nodded. "Then you may have some opinions about the mobile suits the raiders used against us."

Shiho grimaced. "_Gomen_, but I don't know anything much about them, and I don't have access to any intelligence reports regarding them.

Canaver looked at Westenfluss, who nodded back at her. The former Chairwoman activated the holographic display screen mounted on the coffee table, and a three-dimensional hologram appeared over it. It was multicolored, and a representation of an anthropomorphic mobile suit came to life, floating and rotating to provide viewers with an all-angle and aspect view.

Shiho studied the imagery in front of her. The mobile suit had all the classic design aspects of the weapon-class, but it was obvious to Shiho that this particular model was built not only for performance purposes, but for intimidation as well. The mobile suit had design elements that were common from the EA's GAT-X series, Shiho's work with them made her very familiar with their workings. There was significant Orb influence in the chassis design, but she figured that was to be expected, since the island nation's major arms developer Morganraete did have a hand in their development. In fact, some of the second-generation series advanced mobile suits ZAFT had deployed in the previous years, from the stolen ZGMF-X09A Justice and ZGMF-X10A Freedom, the multi-role ZGMF-X56S Impulse and ZGMF-X23S Saviour to Dullindal's prized ZGMF-X42S Destiny and ZGMF-X666S Legend were all derivatives of the five G-Project mobile suits.

The raider was of a practical, mass-produced version, of an excellent design. It was plain to see that it was based on the GAT-X207 Blitz, the first mobile suit to incorporate advanced stealth defenses, including a mirrage colloid cloaking system. This raider used that system effectively, in tandem with its advanced weapons. The ability to mount beam rifles, sabers, rail guns and short-ranged missiles into one chassis, plus a stealth system, was an extraordinary achievement. Added with trans-phase armor plus atmospheric flight capabilities, this raider was a dangerous opponent indeed. But that wasn't what worried Shiho the most. The fact that these raider weapons were mass-produced in some way was the scariest part about them. A squadron of these raiders could do massive damage and hard to beat, what more a full battalion or a regiment? Anyone in the possession of such a large force of advanced mobile weapons could dramatically shift the balance of power into their advantage. Not to totally put them in a dominant position, but enough to make the major powers worried.

Canaver brought up some notations about the sections of the mobile suit schematics. "What you are seeing, _Shousa_, are the preliminary report data we've collected from the raider suit the _Minerva_ captured when it came to the aid of the _Archangel_. Our technicians are still going over the salvaged suit, but from these initial findings, you can see how well-built and well-designed this mobile suit is."

"As far as we could surmise, this mobile suit is a variant of the GAT-X207 Blitz that the La Crueset team liberated from Heliopolis in CE 71. We've been able to crack its codename, and apparently it is called a Wraith. An appropriate name for the design, if one takes into consideration its designated mission profile. This Wraith was designed as a deep raider, able to operate deep behind enemy lines, attacking and destroying its targets with maximum use of maneuverability, firepower and surprise. It is made from existing technologies, albeit some of them are considered illegal in light of the Junius Seven and Oslo treaties. Most of the systems are ones commonly used in the Earth Alliance military, plus some technologies that we've traced back to Orb. Indeed, some of the systems had been tagged as built by Morganraete Industries themselves."

Shiho looked at Canaver. "Are you saying Orb is behind these machines? That they instigated the attacks - even at themselves?"

It was Joule who answered that. "We have considered the possibility, but it is pretty unlikely. We don't see it as worth their while to attack their own military. This is quite preposterous, in my opinion."

"I share Councilwoman Joule's view," Westenfluss agreed. "But the evidence shows that most of the internals of the Wraith are parts produced by Morganraete. So it is either that Orb is the culprit behind these machines, or this in an elaborate disinformation campaign to confuse us."

Shiho pondered that, and realized that the other women were still keeping something from her. "But you think that it's too simple?"

"_Hai_," Canaver nodded. "I don't want to sound paranoid, but we can't see the logic of all of this. If this was some black operation designed to disrupt whatever relations we have with Orb, it's just too much in the open for us to buy it, but dangerous enough that we can't just ignore."

"We do have another angle we are looking at," Joule opened. The other two women looked at her stoically, and Shiho had the feeling that she would not like what Yzak's mother was about to say next.

"We are considering the possibility that this might be the doing of the Earth Alliance, specifically the Atlantic Federation."

Shiho looked at the other two. Canaver had her eyes down, expressing her discomfort with what Joule said. Westenfluss was just studying her, apparently waiting for what Shiho would respond with.

She decided to play it safe. "Forgive me for asking, but may know your reasons for your assessment, Joule-_sama_?"

Joule laughed. "My son was right about you, Shiho-_chan_. You are an inquisitive one."

Yzak's mother stared right into Shiho's eyes, and held her gaze. Shiho felt she could do nothing but hold it back. "The reason I formed this hypothesis is simple - it is a known fact that the EA has possession of Morganraete technologies - those they learned from the information they received from the _Archangel_, and those that they salvaged after their invasion of Orb in the first war."

Shiho blinked. _Of course! The ones that madman Azrael recovered when he occupied Orb! Shiho you baka!_ "I understand what you are saying, Joule-_sama_, but that doesn't fully justify your allegations that the EA are instigating another war with us."

Joule's eyes hardened ever slightly. "I never said they wanted a war, _Shousa_."

Shiho knew at once that she might have pushed too far with Yzak's mother. Her using Shiho's rank was a not so subtle reminder of Shiho's place in all of this. "_Gomen nasai_, Joule-_sama_. I might have used the wrong words. But it still looks strange for me that the EA would do something like this in that direction. I'm only worried of what will happen to us if something terrible starts again."

Joule smiled once more, any visible traces of anger disappearing in her warm façade. "_Hai_, Shiho-_chan_. I agree with you fully. Your concerns for the PLANTs and all Coordinators are well founded."

Westenfluss took the moment to cut in on the conversation. "Even though Ezaria may have a somewhat different opinion about all this, the idea she voiced is something we are considering and studying. We should also consider the chance that there maybe parties closer to home that maybe behind all this, as much as I consider the thought farfetched and dangerous."

Shiho's eyes widened. Is the Chairwoman considering a chance that ZAFT or people in the PLANTs could be behind the terrorists? That was a very dangerous idea to be throwing around with such high level members of the colonies' leadership. Shiho couldn't keep the discomfort from forming inside her – she could feel her stomach churning from the nauseating thought. Even the to former council members didn't hide their wariness – Canaver showing the same expression as Shiho's, while Joule was more pronounced with her outrage at the dangerous remarks of the young Chairwoman. It looked like that Joule was about to protest, but her words were cut off by Westenfluss speaking once more."

"I know what I am saying maybe dangerous and reckless, but we can't discount the fact. It had happened to us before, and could happen again."

Shiho gulped, as the Chairwoman's reason sunk into her. Break The World, where some renegade ZAFT soldiers still loyal to former Chairman Patrick Zala's genocidal visions after the first war tried to drop the hulking remains on Junius Seven on Earth to instigate a world-ending catastrophe. Although the attempt was foiled, the derelict shattered into millions of pieces that rained over a large part of the world. Even though the Earth and the human race were saved, over two million still died and millions hurt in the rain of fire that fell. And the PLANTs recognized the reality that their people were to blame for this second war, and took responsibility for it. The Westenfluss never forgot to consider that angle showed Shiho how seriously the Chairwoman was taking this terrorist threat.

"We expect to learn more as soon as more information about the raiders is available from the techs." The Chairwoman pressed another control, and the hologram changed into a video recording of a hanger bay, where technicians were climbing over what looked like a raider mobile suit like ants over dropped food.

"As you can see, the area where the cockpit should be is gone, apparently cored by a beam saber. So we had no information about the pilot. The ones Orb captured at their naval base may have remains of pilots, but for now they haven't included that in the information they shared with us."

Again Shiho was caught unawares with that. "Orb is helping us, Madam Chair?"

"_Hai_," Canaver answered for her superior. "Under Chief Representative Athha's instructions, the Orb Defense Force has shared whatever information they have collected with us, and the Chairwoman has instructed our side to return the favor." Within limits, she didn't need add. "This is based on the informal agreement between _Taisa_ Jane Devereux of the _Minerva_ and _Shousho_ Kira Yamato of the ODF. The Council received it and approved it, and Athha reciprocated."

"But aren't we considering the chance that Orb might be involved in this?"

"We are, _Shousa_," Westenfluss answered. "But I reiterate my view that I, like Eileen and Ezaria, believe that is very unlikely. I am moving forward with the belief that if there is a nation I can trust in this situation, it is either Orb or Scandinavia."

Shiho glanced peripherally at the other two women if they agreed with Westenfluss with this one, and it was clear the Joule didn't._ You're playing a dangerous game, Madam Chair. I just hope you don't turn out the way Zala and Dullindal did._ "How are we working with Orb on this matter, Madam Chair?"

Westenfluss smiled. "As Eileen said, the Council has decided to cooperate with the Orb government. Both nations have agreed to investigate the matter, share information, and act on it."

There it was, confirmation that ZAFT and the Orb military are working together to solve this mystery and to take action to end it. Those words spoke volumes of whatever was going down. No wonder the Chairwoman didn't want this to be heard by others. "How do ZAFT intend to go through with this?"

"We have established a military liaison office through Ambassador Amalfi. We have assigned an officer from our ranks to act as our representative in the ODF, during the course of our joint investigation. He will be present with Orb's investigative team, and has clearance to send us word of their progress."

"In fact," Joule cut in. "The liaison officer is someone you know, Shiho-_chan_. He is someone Yzak trusts, a fine gentleman from a prominent family. He is well skilled and prepared for this mission, what with his dealings with Orb before."

Shiho took in the news. _So that's where Dearka went_. She figured that her blonde teammate will be the best one available for the job, being ZAFT's military attaché with Orb. Since she didn't hear news from him in awhile, Shiho figured that Dearka was busy with work. She never imagined it was _this_ kind of work. "So where do you want me in this mission, Madam Chair? Am I going to be assigned to Orb too?"

"_Iie, Chusa_ Elsman can handle things with Ambassador Amalfi from that end. I need you somewhere else." Westenfluss brought up new images on the holoscreen, and explained her orders for Shiho as brief as she could. It took a minute.

"Why there, Madam Chair?" Shiho asked.

"Because that ship is in the best position to act should we uncover something concrete, _Shousa_." Westenfluss answered. "We want to limit the participants to this delicate mission. We have already deployed that crew to act as our immediate strike force, and we've reinforced them as much as we can quietly. You'll be part of the reinforcements. You'll operate as a part of her mobile suit team. Though you outrank their team commander, I expect you to leave the duty of command to her. I want you to concentrate on the investigation, and the cover mission we've designed for you. Eileen?"

Canaver brought out an optical disc, and inserted it onto the holoscreen drive. Schematics for another mobile suit design, one Shiho had never seen before, came hovering to life. "You'll be using the cover story of test piloting the new mobile suit we've been developing. It's already completed its test flying at the prototype stage. What you'll be taking along is the first of the actual model ZAFT intends to deploy in the near future."

Shiho gazed excitedly at the schematics. "But this is-"

"_Hai_, Shiho-_chan_" Joule answered with a grin. "It's the fourth design in the New Millennium Series mobile suit, it lost out to the GOUF during its design competition for a lot faults. MMI1 had finally succeeded in fixing its problems and completing its development and will be begin mass-production to augment our forces. They need a preeminent test pilot to fly it in actual combat conditions, or as close to it as possible. Who could be more suited than you, one of the ace test pilots of the Deep Arms prototype, to be the first to fly this machine?"

Shiho looked at the Chairwoman, who confirmed this with a nod. "It's the only unit we could deploy to the ship without making things to obvious or making the EA wary of our presence. The ship is currently on transit to the South Atlantic, and you will rendezvous with her there. You will report to me directly via _Chujo_ Radul's office in Gibraltar." Westenfluss stood up from the couch and walked to her desk. She took out something from one of the drawers, and motioned for Shiho to come to her.

Westenfluss hesitated at first, before she held out her palm. "I am not sure if I should give this to you, _Shousa_, what with its history of late." Shiho glanced at the Chairwoman's palm. Nestled on it was a silver pin, shaped in a sharp edged leaf. Shiho recognized it at once. It was a FAITH pin, the symbol of those elite soldiers who were part of the Fast Acting Integrated Tactical Headquarters, the Special Forces branch that answered directly to the Chairwoman of the PLANTs. It was a prestige unit, what with the power it wields and the resources at its disposal. But the group had been tainted of late, what with the actions of its last members, those Gilbert Dullindal inducted to the group to be used as tools for his attempt to enshrine himself as an absolute dictator.

So the Chairwoman was thinking of making her a FAITH member. "_Gomen nasai_, Madam Chair, but I have to decline this promotion. I am honored though."

The Chairwoman nodded. "I expected your response, and I respect your decision. You still however, retain the privilege of directly reporting to me with regards to this mission. But in all other regards, you will follow the chain of command of the battleship's crew."

"Understood, Madam Chair."

Canaver and Joule stood up from there seats, as Westenfluss offered her hand to Shiho once more. "Take the dossier on the Wraith and your new unit. You have twenty-four hours to study them and prepare for your trip to the South Atlantic. The _Virgil_ is waiting to transit you to Earth's orbit." The Chairwoman smiled sadly at Shiho. "If there is one thing about being Chairwoman of the PLANTs that I do not savor, it's that I have to order young people like you to go into harm's way. But bear in mind that the safety of the PLANTs, and possibly the entire world may rest on your shoulders, _Shousa_. I am counting on you to succeed."

"_Hai_, Madam Chair."

* * *

_**George Glenn Military Hospital**_

_**ZAFT Militia Academy Grounds**_

_**Aprilius One**_

**_Aprilius City_**

**_PLANT _**

**_L5_**

_**January 4, CE 75**_

The sound of metal crashing greeted Shiho as she stepped out of the elevator unto the floor of the hospital where Yzak was confined in. The first thing she saw from the people in this ward was pandemonium, as everyone was reacting to the loud noise that violated their eardrums. The sound was coming from a room near the nurses' station, and a couple of female nurses and large male attendants where coming out off, apparently frightened out of their wits. Shiho approached a nervous looking young nurse who was manning the station, warily looking at the door of the room her terrified co-workers just left.

Shiho already had a bad feeling whose room that was, but rather than risk barging into the room and find out that it wasn't the one she was visiting, she decided to ask the nurse. She walked over to her and, giving her best smile to the nurse, asked her. "_Konnichi-wa_. Could you point me to _Shousho_ Joule's room?"

The nurse looked at Shiho like she was the Harbinger of Hell. She stammered at her words, and seemed to be forcing her hand to point to the direction of the room where the noises were coming from. Shiho helped her by pointing her own finger to the same direction, and was rewarded by a reluctant nod. Fighting the urge to roll her eyes, Shiho thanked the nurse and stepped in front of the room's door.

Feeling the eyes of everyone on the corridors and the station on her, Shiho knocked twice.

"Didn't I just say that I don't want to see any of your faces? WASN'T I CLEAR ENOUGH?"

Shiho sighed. This was definitely Yzak's room. From the sound of his voice, he was not having a great time. Figuring it would be better to just go into the room than argue with her hotheaded commander before she ever got to go in, Shiho opened the door and silently slid through.

The room was a mess. Metal trays were scattered on the floor, and spilled food, plates, utensils and glasses ringed around them. Several new-looking patients' robes were haphazardly dropped on one side of the room, the bearer obviously wanting to escape the patient's wrath as soon as he or she could. Several flower bases, their floral arrangements spilled from the containers, lay a table. A pair of crutches was lying on the side of the bed, beside a fallen chair.

Shaking her head, Shiho took stock of the patient occupying this room. Yzak was sitting on the bed, his head lying on a pillow on the inclined part. He was wearing hospital robes underneath red house robes with the Joule Family crest. Shiho's eyes traced down to his legs, but they were underneath sheets and they hid whatever evidence were there of Yzak's grave injuries. The blonde pilot did not seem to notice her, and was staring out unto the window, cold anger evident in his eyes.

Yzak must have heard her movements, for he turned to face her. "You really want to get on my hate list, don't you-," Yzak eyes widened briefly as he saw her, then turned away to look at the window again. "Oh. Its _you_."

Shiho pasted a smile on her face. "I just came from Chairwoman Westenfluss' office, and I figured I'd drop by to see you."

"It's so _nice _of you to drop by," Yzak answered sarcastically.

Shiho shook her head. "I didn't get to you much back in Oslo, and then they shipped you out here earlier than me. I just got back a few days ago, so this was the first time I could visit."

Yzak's eyes fell unto what Shiho was carrying. "And what the hell are those?"

"Oh these? Flowers," Shiho said.

Yzak was looking more exasperated. "I know they're _flowers_. I'm asking what the hell they're for?"

Shiho bit her lip, fighting the urge to smack Yzak with a good right. "They're for _you_, if you cared to notice."

Yzak snorted. "And if you noticed yourself, I don't really care for flowers." He gestured at the toppled over vases.

Shiho was getting pissed. _Here I am trying to show this baka how much I've been worried for him, and he gives me all this crap! Why the hell do I put up with him?_ She felt tempted to turn around and leave, but Yzak stopped her by reaching out a hand to her.

"Well? What are you waiting for? Gimme those damn _plants_."

Surprised, Shiho handed over the bouquet to Yzak, who shifted his body to face one of the side tables beside his bed. He picked up an upturned vase and casually dumped its contents on the floor, replaced the vase on the table, and put Shiho's bouquet in them. He looked at them curiously. "First time I got flowers from a _girl_ before."

Shiho was speechless, but Yzak didn't seem to notice that. He just shifted his body more so that his legs were hanging over the side of the bed. Shiho saw the lower part of the right leg was heavily bandaged; the amputation point under the knee was covered from sight. Yzak kept his eyes on the flowers, before speaking once more. "So what brings you here, Housenka2?"

It was Yzak's use of the nickname he gave her during their time working together in the Deep Arms project that broke Shiho's speechless spell. She shifted uncomfortably. "I came to see how you were doing."

Yzak raised an eye at her. "I guess you can see for yourself."

Shiho lips formed a straight line. "Your mother said that you'll have your operation next week."

Yzak snorted. "Yeah. The doctors said that it should be fine, and I'd be walking again in a few months. Don't know yet if I could fly again," he finished bitterly.

"_Gomen_."

Yzak stared at her angrily. "What are you feeling sorry for, Hanenfuss? I'll be out there flying to bust your ass back to private for being a stupid _baka_ in no time. You can bet on that."

Shiho smiled. For all that Yzak was a complete idiot, he has a strange sense of humor that she really liked. She could feel her cheeks warming up, a sensation that was both embarrassing, and enjoyable.

Yzak didn't notice this, however, and continued his rant. "So you've seen my mother, eh Housenka? How is the old lady doing?"

Shiho picked up a chair and sat on it. "I saw her with Chairwoman Westenfluss. She was there to help brief me on my new assignment."

Yzak eyes grew grim. "New assignment? Where the hell are they putting you? And why didn't they tell _me_ first!"

Shiho looked down at her fingers. "_Gomen_, Yzak, but I really can't tell you."

There was an uneasy silence as Yzak scrutinized her. "Need to know crap huh?"

Shiho nodded.

Yzak bit his lip. "When are you leaving?" he whispered.

Shiho smiled sadly. "Tomorrow afternoon probably. I can't say much else."

Yzak nodded. "Just be careful out there, Housenka. I don't want you doing what that _baka_ Dearka would do. I won't be surprised if he got caught in that disaster in Orb." Yzak turned serious at her. "I swear I'll kill you myself if you get into trouble."

"_Hai_, Yzak-_sama_."

Yzak growled. "I hate it when you call me Yzak-_sama_. Makes me sound like some senile old codger."

Shiho giggled. "_Gomen nasai_, Yzak-_san_."

* * *

It was late in the afternoon when Shiho walked out of the hospital lobby into the driveway. Her visit to Yzak was fruitful, in her point of view. Though it started off on the wrong foot, her friend soon got the sense to act more mature around her. She enjoyed the hour she spent talking to him, about topics not related to their profession. Even with his not-so-pleasant temper, Yzak was well educated and versed in a conversation, and could almost seem like a normal human being when relating with others. And from the nice way Yzak treated her, Shiho felt that Yzak was a good person underneath all his emotional baggage.

_I guess you could get to speak to the real Yzak once you gained his trust._

She stepped off to the side of the street, hoping to catch a cab to take her back to her barracks on the other side of the city. Without thinking, Shiho glanced up back to the hospital building, looking at the direction of where Yzak's room was. Not really expecting anything, she was surprised to see someone standing in front of the window, looking down at her.

It was Yzak.

He was standing there, supported by crutches. Shiho could not hear if he was saying anything, it was getting too dark and the room was too far and high up for her to see clearly. But she was sure it was him; the fading sunlight glistening on his friend silver hair. Yzak raised a hand at her, a sign both as a farewell and good fortune.

Shiho silently raised her hand in response, and smiled back at him. She knew she felt something about him; Yzak had always been special to her. And now it was clear that Yzak did care for her; at least enough to worry about her untold assignment.

_I wish I could have said more to him. _

A bus stopped in front of her, covering Shiho's view to her friend. She looked up and down to catch a glimpse of him angle, but the angle was completely covered by the bus' mass. Thankfully the bus left her path, and her eyes had a clear view to Yzak's window once more.

But he was gone.

The curtains closed behind the forlorn window.

* * *

_**Archangel**_

_**Somewhere In The South Pacific**_

_**January 5, CE 75**_

Lately she couldn't sleep at night, the dreams waking her in a cold sweat, the feeling of being alone and confusion adding to her anxieties. It was difficult for her, being in this state. Adding the pressures of being an integral crewmember in a warship once more, Meyrin wondered how she was coping. She felt like she was nearing her breaking point, but she kept herself from falling apart.

She contemplated on the changes in her life that had molded her into what she was now. Meyrin never realized how far she had come, and how little had changed in her. When she was young, it felt like she was always lagging behind, especially when it came to her sister. She always thought Lunamaria had it all; the looks, the attitude, the boys. Unlike her sister, Meyrin was more of shy type - letting Luna take the initiative and garnering much of the attention and praise. At first it was just fine with her, content to let Luna have all the fun, be the favorite among their parents and peers. But as she grew older, she felt the first hints of jealousy with her older sibling, and a feeling of inferiority towards her.

Meyrin thought, when they both entered the ZAFT Academy almost two years ago, that she could change all that and stand on her own two feet. At first she was enthusiastic with her chances, putting all of her time and effort to excelling in her studies and training. She discovered that she had a knack for computers, and Meyrin quickly advanced to more complex uses of the technology. But once more Luna one-upped her, being accepted into the more glamorous field of mobile suits. Meyrin watched as Luna became a trainee pilot, and, together with their common friends, the angsty, ill-tempered Shinn and the silent mysterious Rey Za Burrel, successfully pass the training course and inducted into the elite redcoats after their graduation. This meant that once more her sister outdid her, and in the same time outranked her at the start of their military service. Even though she was not one to openly remark negatively against her sister, she felt the gap between them increase dramatically. She felt that she could not get away from her sister's shadow.

Things came to a boil upon the beginning of their adventures with the _Minerva_, with the chance encounter with one Athrun Zala. The sisters knew who he was - a legend of the first war, a redcoat officer, son of one of the PLANTs most powerful leaders, member of an elite mobile suit squad, vanquisher of one of ZAFT's most feared enemies, pilot of an advanced mobile weapon, turned traitor in order to protect the woman he loved, hero of the Coordinator people.

They heard of Athrun way before the sisters entered the Academy, and both began to have crushes on him as he was paraded in honor behind his illustrious father, and both felt envy at the pink-haired princess they thought had ownership of his heart. The both shared the sorrow as they heard of his betrayal in the waning months of the first war, and cheered him as he emerged as a victorious hero at its end. When they started their training, their idol disappeared, seemingly hiding away from all the chaos of post-war reconstruction.

Meyrin was sure it was Fate that Athrun stumbled unto the _Minerva_ that day in Armory One, landing suddenly in their midst in a commandeered ZAKU, a blonde haired woman in his arms. At first she could not recognize him, but Meyrin felt a bond with him she could not understand. Their first meeting was a disaster, ending with Meyrin fumbling with words when she and her friends stumbled upon Athrun as they gossiped about him. When he returned to his self-imposed exile in Orb, Meyrin thought that that was that; a fleeting encounter with someone she had a big, fangirl crush on. She never did learn much about him, and figured there was nothing more she could do.

But he returned. Unexpectedly and out of the blue, Athrun flew back to the _Minerva_, riding the crest of the wave of authority and power vested upon him by Chairwoman Dullindal himself. In command of the militia's newest mobile suit, Athrun took command of _Minerva's_ mobile suit team, with an aura of confidence that overwhelmed Meyrin as she gazed upon her hero, decked in the familiar red uniform that placed him within the ranks of ZAFT's heroic paladins. That he was now staying for good pushed Meyrin to act; she know had the chance to get to know him better, and she decided not to waste it.

And thankfully she did, for once more the cold war between herself and her sister was brewing, and Athrun Zala was the target of their new conquest. Again Luna took the offensive first, using her status as a member of Athrun's team to take advantage of her close proximity to him. She figured her more physical flirting could work wonders around the blue-haired commander. Meyrin took a more scientific approach, researching as much as she could about Athrun from the files of the militia, which she could access more easily than others with her excellent skills. Even though she knew she was giving up much of a lead to Luna, Meyrin wanted to be patient, so as not to give to much hope for her that it would hurt should she fail and be rejected.

Initially, both sisters fell flat on their faces. Athrun never gave to much notice to them, save for the professional socialization that came with their duties. It wasn't that Athrun was not a perfect gentleman; in fact he was, and Meyrin was a recipient of his excellent conduct in that moment they shared at 'Lacus Clyne's' concert in Diocvia. That was a small victory over her sister - Luna had never gotten Athrun to fall for any of her attempts to catch his eye, and Meyrin never really intended for Athrun to catch her and stop her fall. But Athrun looked to be somewhat uncomfortable around the opposite sex, a surprising little fact given that he was a handsome man back with impeccable credentials. But that was how Meyrin and her sister saw him, and they only knew the outside face of the quiet and introverted officer.

In fact, Meyrin noticed that Athrun was somewhat less of an aggressive commander a ZAFT soldier might expect from a member of FAITH. He seemed far away and introspective, like there was something that was nagging him inside his mind and was affecting his duties. He was still one of the best when it came to flying and fighting in a mobile suit, but that too looked to be tempered by something. There was a conflict brewing inside him, something Meyrin would come to understand after a few months into the war, when the _Minerva_ finally arrived at Gibraltar after a harrowing trek through South Asia and into Europe.

By that time, the entire crew of the battleship was exhausted physically and mentally; with the grueling experiences they went through. The _Minerva's_ losses were great; several of the crew, including one of their elite pilots killed, the majority of their mobile suit complement knock out of commission, and the battleship suffering massive damage. Athrun felt the losses more deeply than the rest, having had the ZGMF-X23S Saviour shot under him (by his best friend, of all people), a comrade killed by his side, his ideals and visions overshadowed by war and betrayed by his leader, his own life threatened by those he served and protected. A series of events which drove Athrun to contemplate his own betrayal and seek flight to safety.

And that was when Meyrin came to know the true Athrun Zala. On that dark and stormy night, he came to her room, soaked from the rain and fighting for his life, hiding from the one who sought to kill him in their own treachery. She didn't know what drove her to help him, but she quickly thought of a way and executed it without hesitation. He never asked for her help, only her silence. But Meyrin stepped out of the darkness of her life and into the light of reality, however blinding and uncomfortable it would have been. She went with him, braving the deadly fire from Rey to escape into the GOUF and fly away from Gibraltar. Meyrin drew all of her courage to weather the terrible moments when Rey and Shinn came in pursuit, ignoring Athrun's pleas not to hurt her, and to face the death Shinn had sentenced them too.

She fell into darkness, and for what felt like an eternity she wondered if she would never come back to the land of the living. But when she finally opened her eyes, she woke in the bosom of the _Archangel_, the ship that she once considered her enemy, in the care of the blonde woman who truly was the owner of Athrun's heart and soul.

In her talks with Cagalli-_sama_, Meyrin listened to all the stories she told her about the one man who held both their hearts enthralled. To the Chief Representative, he was someone who she could hold onto and be herself, to be there when she needed someone to share her true feelings with. But Meyrin slowly picked up the hints that things were not as rosy as she thought it was about Cagalli Yula Athha and Athrun Zala. The weight of their respective responsibilities, plus the distance that was placed between them, weakened their personal feelings between one another. Meyrin felt the same way with Athrun, since he never seemed to look for time to be with Cagalli-_sama_ after returning to the _Archangel_, always silently content to be somewhere else.

And wherever he was, Meyrin was most likely with him. Except for the days when they were both recuperating from the injuries they received during the flight from Gibraltar, Meyrin was never far from Athrun. And Athrun would not say anything to send her away; he quietly accepted her presence, and did things with her help and company. Oblivious to the knowledge that his silent acceptance meant the world to her, Athrun continued to live, and Meyrin saw to it that she would help his existence.

So at the risk of being branded as a traitor to her side, Meyrin followed Athrun into the chaos the _Archangel's_ crew was fighting against. She was at his side right before he first flew the Infinite Justice, in Athrun's first attempt to persuade Shinn to see the light of truth, to turn away from the illusions Dullindal and Rey was showing him. Though she feared for her sister, who had no knowledge of her survival or changing of side, she could not help it. She made a choice to stay with the man she had come to know so well, and was still learning about.

And in another strange twist of faith, so was given the chance to learn and grow with him further. Cagalli-_sama's_ responsibilities denied her the choice to join Athrun and their comrades, in their quest to stop Dullindal in the dark reaches of space. Her duty to the people of Orb made her stay behind, to fully assume the heavy mantle of burden her late father had bequeathed her. In the process she stepped farther away from Athrun. As she finished her farewell speech to the Archangel's crew, they both said nothing, as if they both trusted each other to know what were the desires of each other's hearts, even though the silence denied them the chance to say it into words.

As she disembarked from the _Archangel_, Cagalli-_sama_ crossed Meyrin's path. Seeing her in her ZAFT uniform, the Chief Representative stopped and greeted her warmly.

"So you are going with him?" Cagalli-_sama_ had asked her.

"_Hai_," Meyrin answered silently.

Cagalli-_sama_ looked into her eyes, a hint of sadness in her brown orbs. "Please…take care of him." She dropped her gaze and looked away. "Because I can't go along with everyone."

Meyrin didn't know how to reply to her. She was leaving him to her care.

The Orb leader smiled. "I'll pray for your safety, then." And then she left, saying nothing more. But Meyrin saw the tears forming in Cagalli-_sama's_ eyes, and Meyrin felt the sadness that was going inside the woman she knew her man loved.

So from then on all of Meyrin's time and effort was concentrated on Athrun's welfare, especially since they were entering such a crucial stage in the war. She had accompanied him and his friends Kira Yamato and Lacus Clyne in their mission to rescue Lacus' double, Meer Campbell, which ended tragically for Meer and more grief and hurt for Athrun. She had taken up a position on the Terminal's fast transport _Eternal_, acting as combat information and control officer for Athrun and Kira-_san's_ mobile suits. She wanted to in a position to help Athrun with her best, and be able to communicate with him in the thick of battle. Her help was valuable to him; she made it possible to help convince her sister that their cause was just, and allowed Athrun to reach her with his words. With the war ending with Terminal's victory at the Battle of _Messiah_, Meyrin faced the future with the hope of a better world, and the chance to grow closer to the man she chose for her life.

But reconstruction and peace talks formed a growing barrier between them, the same way as it did for Cagalli-_sama_ and Athrun. Meyrin was asked by Lacus-_san_, who became a close friend of hers with the shared experiences after meeting on Orb, to work for her in her newly established Foundation for war orphans. Meyrin became the songstress' private secretary and confidante, acting on her behalf with the workings of the Foundation. The hectic pace of her new job; the shuttling between war-torn states, the communications between those who have located and cared for orphaned children, and the supervision of the administrative functions of the Clyne Foundation's offices, cut deeply into her time.

And Athrun seemed to growing more distant, with his constant traveling with Kira-_san _to the former battlefields, and his solo trips to different places, apparently in search for someone. That someone turned out to be Shinn, who had returned to the PLANTs with her sister but left her months later. Meyrin came to feel anger at her former friend and comrade with his treatment of Luna, and never understood why Athrun would want to seek him out. But she was sure that the distance between them was growing, but she was not sure if Athrun noticed it, or even cared.

And she wanted him to care. She wanted to him to say something, even get mad at her for staying away from him with her Foundation work. But that was not who Athrun was. She was learning that he was a man of few words, and one who tends to hide his feelings, rather than express them. For all his incredible talents, Athrun was human, with frailties as much as everyone else. And this was what Meyrin fell in love with him the most: his humanity.

But, being a woman, with needs and desires like any other young woman of her age would, she felt the growing need of something more from him. With the growing chaos that was once again shadowing the world she knew, he was taking more of a role to stop the growing madness. And along the way he was putting his life more into the risks involved, and that scared Meyrin. She feared for his life, that was a natural thing. But she feared even more the feeling of something hanging between them, and that she never know the answer from him.

And it was troubling her. She knew it was affecting her duties as a crewmember, and was afraid of making a mistake. She was afraid that that mistake can cost Athrun his life, and she would be to blame. She could never live with that. So she knew she had to solve this. But she needed his help.

So she stumbled along the silent corridors of the _Archangel_, most of her crew resting in their quarters, or quietly going through this night's duty shift. The ship had settled on the circular course, traveling along this sector of the Atlantic at very low speeds, almost drifting along the South Pacific underwater currents, as they waited for the results of the investigation of the ambush they just survived. Meyrin was part of the team tasked to study what had happened - she was looking in on the possibility that their transmission to the satellite was compromised. She had been working tirelessly on it, and she was close to solving the mystery. But it was exhausting her, and this was adding to the anxieties she was carrying.

She felt helpless and scared when she alone in her quarters - Lacus-_san_, who should have been her roommate, was spending a lot more time with Kira-_san_. She felt envious of her intimacy with the Strike Freedom's pilot, wishing that she could experience that with her man. So she walked alone, deep in her thoughts.

She met some of the crew along the way, but did not speak to them apart from a quick greeting. She came upon Shinn in the observation deck, quietly watching the darkness of the deep ocean and its alien-like sea life, his red eyes still full of anger and troubles. After the incident with Athrun and Kira-san in the pilot's ready room, the former _Minerva_ ace had avoided them all, which suited Meyrin fine. She still hadn't forgiven him, and she didn't know when she could face that problem and settle it. Shinn didn't notice her, and Meyrin left him to his brooding. She continued her walk along the silent passageways, until she ended up in the ship's galley.

She found him there, alone and silently sitting in front of one of the galley's tables. Athrun sat there, his hands holding a cup of coffee, but with no movement to savor the brew. He looked up and saw her, and smiled sadly in greeting.

Paralyzed in surprise, Meyrin couldn't move from her spot at the doorway. She wanted to go to him, but he didn't want to invade his privacy. She watched him, looking so handsome, with the kind features of his face tinged with a sorrow she wanted to understand. It felt wrong for her to intrude upon him like this, and she was ready to go away.

But his soft voice broke her resolve. She couldn't resist him and his simple call.

"Join me?"

Two simple words - an invitation to stay in with him and to share his company. Meyrin wanted it more than anything. But she had to be sure.

"_Gomen_, but I think I'll just be intruding."

Once again Athrun gave her that sad smile that made her heart skip. "_Iie_, I could use the company." He dropped his green eyes and looked at his hands. "Please, Meyrin."

And so she stayed, entering the galley and headed for the coffee dispenser to get herself a cup. She then sat in front of him, and began to share the silent moment with him, content not to say anything, just enjoy each other's presence. She could live with it this way, since she could see it made him happy. And it made her happy too.

If only her happiness could be this way forever. A forever that she felt deep inside, could never be.

* * *

_**Raider Base**_

_**Location Unknown**_

**_January 6, CE 75_**

Adam rubbed his purple eyes. They were feeling the strain of his all-nighter studying the reports they acquired from ZAFT and Samson's subsequent notes. The file was an interesting one for him, and the revelations he uncovered were bound to be useful in the future. He flicked the pages to sections he needed to double check, to make sure he understood them correctly.

It was a boon for their cause that they had access to such files. Once they began to apply these systems to their existing arsenals, their power would increase tenfold. It would surely bring them closer to the victory they all attain for. And for him, it would take him closer to revenge against the one he hated of all.

The mad hunger rising inside him, Adam opened his desk safe and put the Gibraltar files back in, replacing them with the binder his masked Master had provided for him. Again he felt fortunate that the Pharaoh had access to such information; in fact, Adam should have expected it from someone whose power and influence reached to the boundaries of all Humankind.

Like a priceless treasure, Adam lovingly caressed the binder's cover, before delicately opening it to its contents. Though he had finished reading every single page of this file, Adam found himself wanting to read it over and over again. It was like a window to his soul, a veritable insight on his own humanity, the descriptions minutely detailed his own existence. And as happy as he was to learn more about himself, he felt angry as well - angry at the individual who shared his fate, but lived his life differently.

Adam felt envious. He wanted that life. He wanted that individual's power.

And with the Pharaoh's gift, he knew he could take it for his own.

All he had to do for now, was orchestrate the events to come for him to confront his hated enemy, and then destroy him. For only by destroying him, can he feel his true place on the order of humanity's predatory food chain; the very top.

And take his place as humanity's greatest legacy. Or it's greatest curse.

* * *

_**LHM-BB01 Minerva**_

_**South Atlantic**_

_**January 8, CE 75 **_

Devereux checked her watch. It was mid morning now, the sun in the eastern sky halfway through to its apex, its warmth and light permeating through the bridge's massive viewports. It was nearly time no, only a few seconds before they begun their last stretch in their wait for the ship's newest crewmember. Due to secrecy, she had not received much information about the new transfer, except that this person was to augment the Minerva's mobile suit force.

And it was about time that the reinforcement arrived. The Minerva had been at this spot in the vast ocean for two days now, holding station by running an oval route fifteen miles across and four miles wide, traveling along the course at a sedate fifteen knots. They were close enough to the South American coast to command the interest of EA units nearby; their position put them two hundred miles east of Montevideo, where the OMNI Enforcer had a large naval base.

And the EA was showing their presence in the area. Twice a day Burt Heim had reported his detection of recon aircraft with his sensors, circling just beyond effective missile range. The intruders were content to scan them from afar, and did nothing to provoke any response from the Minerva. Arthur Trine once recommended launching a mobile suit to investigate, but Devereux denied the order. She did not want to give then reason to be more wary of their being there.

So they endured the daily intrusions, ignoring them for most part, but just in case, Devereux kept the ship on Condition Yellow most of the time, and even ordered the crew to Condition Red a few instances to keep them alert. This, however, was exhausting and irritating to the crew, and Devereux too was beginning to be affected by their routine.

So it was a good change of pace that they were waiting for the arrival. A just received laser transmission from Gibraltar indicated that the _Nazca_-class destroyer _Virgil_ was about to launch the descent pod that carried the new unit, so Devereux had ordered the crew to stand to.

"Keep your eyes open, Mister Heim," she reminded her sensors officer.

"_Hai_," Heim responded.

"We're receiving a transmission from the _Virgil, Kanchou_." Abi reported from her seat. "They have released the descent pod and it is beginning its drop." She gave its initial position above the atmosphere.

"Sensors?"

"Tracking it now, _Kanchou_." Heim answered. "I'll bring up its descent trajectory on the main screen."

Devereux watched the transit data. The pod had just penetrated the outer layers of Earth's atmosphere, the second stage of its descent. Heim had successfully opened a comlink to the mobile suit it carried, but atmospheric interference was causing a lot of static. "The signal should clear once the pod enters stage four."

"_Arigato_. Keep monitoring its progress."

The crew waited for another five minutes, including a two-minute span when all communications with the pod was lost, as it entered the black zone of stage-three descent. But as the transit data indicated that the pod had passed into the troposphere, a much clearer voice was coming into the communications line.

"_Minerva _control, this is ZAFT three-four-four-six-two, do you read me over?"

It was a woman's voice. Devereux nodded to Abi to reply.

"ZAFT three-four-four-six-two, _Minerva_. We read you loud and clear."

"Nice to hear your voice, _Minerva_. I am at fifty-five thousand meters, with a descent velocity of Mach three-point-oh. I am sending my telemetry and IFF3 signals to you now."

New information came into the viewscreen, and Devereux could now see the mobile suit's identification code: _ZGMF-XX14A GELGOOG_.

"Confirmed, ZAFT three-four-four-six-two. We have your codes. You may begin release from pod."

"_Hai, Minerva_. Releasing from pod now." The crew could here a explosion from the background of the transmission, the evidence of the explosive bolts that held the pod's heat shielded covers in place ejecting them, and releasing the new mobile suit from it's restraints into free-fall. "Release successful, and I am in free-fall. Deploying variable wings now." There was a pause for a few seconds. "Wings deployed. Descent velocity decreasing to Mach two-point-six. Altitude at forty-one thousand. Beginning controlled atmospheric flight."

"ZAFT three-four-four-six-two, we have your position."

"Guide her in, Abi." Devereux commanded.

"Hai. ZAFT three-four-four-six-two, come left forty seven degrees to a new heading two-four-four."

"Roger, _Minerva_. Changing course now." The data on the screen changed as the GELGOOG shifted towards their location. "Course change complete. I am at thirty-three thousand feet, speed of Mach one-point-three."

ZAFT three-four-four-six-two, maintain course and descend to five thousand." Abi turned to her commander. "She's into her last descent phase, Kanchou."

"Very well, Miss Windsor. Order the ship to Condition Yellow. Prepare for mobile suit landing operations."

"_Hai_," Abi replied, and she opened the PA for all to here. "Condition Yellow, Condition Yellow. All sections prepare for mobile suit landing. Starboard bay, standby."

"_Minerva_, ZAFT three-four-four-six-two. I am forty miles out at five thousand; I can see you on the horizon."

"Copy that, ZAFT three-four-four-six-two. You may begin landing procedures. S/VTOL landing on starboard bay one. Maintain constant communications with my station."

Devereux waited for another few minutes before she could she the gunmetal mobile suit came into view. The bulky looking machine, with wings similar to those of the Justice series mobile suits, slowly dropped closer to the ship, angling for bay one. Abi was guiding her approach, and soon it was in line for a clean landing. Flaring its backpack and leg thrusters, the GELGOOG stepped unto the edge of the landing deck, and after another angry flare, killed its thrusters.

"ZAFT three-four-four-six-two has landed, _Kanchou_," Abi finally reported. The GELGOOG was now walking into the interior of bay-one, its pilot confirming what the golden-haired CIC officer had just reported.

"Well done, Miss Windsor." Devereux stood up from the captain's chair. "Secure the ship from Condition Yellow. Have _Tai-I_ Hawke meet me in the main hanger. We'll meet our new pilot when she disembarks. Mister Trine, you have the conn."

* * *

Luna waited with the _Kanchou_ for the pilot of the new mobile suit to get out of the cockpit. She had taken the time from when she arrived at the hanger bay to study the new suit. It was a large design, bulkier than the usual mobile suit chassis she was accustomed to seeing. The GELGOOG, at first glance, looked like a large knight in Gothic-style plate mail armor, its rounded edges giving it a sleek, streamlined look. The head followed its Gothic knight theme, looking like the ones the princes of old would use to protect themselves from battle. Large powerful hand actuators held a massive beam rifle and a spiked shield similar to that of Madison's GOUF. Four missile tubes protruded from the sides of the heavily armored legs, as were three more on each of the shoulder's sides. A flight backpack that could double as a detachable lifter hung behind the mobile suit, providing more raw power for atmospheric flight. To Luna it looked like a superb weapon, albeit she was turned off with its ungainly looking bulkiness. But she reserved final judgement with the machine until she saw it in battle.

A small crowd of techs had gathered behind them, but the _Kanchou_ was not giving any signs of shooing them away. Luna practically ignored them, concentrating her attention to where the GELGOOG held its cockpit.

Finally, the cockpit opened. Out came the pilot, obviously female by the looks and the grace of her movement, and she began her descent on the lift cable attached by the hatch. She slid down for half a minute, before stepping unto the hanger bay floor.

She was a petite one, a bit smaller than Luna was. She was wearing a red flight suit like the one Luna wore, and carried a briefcase with her. She still hadn't taken off her helmet, as she strode forward to where Luna and the _Kanchou_ stood. To Luna, it felt like déjà vu; it reminded her of when Athrun Zala came confidently out of the old Saviour to greet his new comrades.

Luna took a moment to relive his memories of Athrun. She had a crush on him, she cared to admit to himself, but the blue haired warrior looked to have fallen for the charms of her sister, Meyrin. Last she heard of the two they were still together, but Luna had a nagging feeling that she would have to take that information from a certain point of view. For now she couldn't think of it much; she had more important things on her mind. Like this new individual, one apparently out-ranking her, and therefore a possible threat to her command position. Luna decided to the study this person seriously.

The pilot stopped in front of them, and placed her briefcase on the floor. She unsealed the latches holding her helmet in place, and took it off. Shiny brown hair cascaded down shoulder length, and hawk-like eyes stared out at Luna. The pilot smiled as she stood in straight attention, and gave the two the stiff armed ZAFT salute. The pilot faced the Kanchou as she spoke for the first time.

"_Shousa_ Shiho Hanenfuss, reporting for duty, _Kanchou_."

* * *

1 MMI is short for Maius Military Industries, the name of one of the major armaments design and manufacturing corporations in the PLANTs, with offices and factories located on one of the colonies in the Maius colony sector. MMI has developed much of the advanced weaponry mounted on ZAFT mobile weapons since the First War. Notable products includes the MA-M21G beam rifle of the ZGMF-600 GuAIZ, the MA-M20 Lupus beam rifles of the Freedom and the Justice, and MMI-M8A3 76mm machine gun of the venerable ZGMF-1017 GINN.

2 Housenka is the Japanese translation for balsam, an oak tree known for its sap used in balsamic vinegar. Based on the manga and other sources, Yzak called Shiho 'balsam' for her tactic of scattering beams in a circling arc, like the branches of the balsam tree.

3 IFF- Identify Friend or Foe


	13. Phase Twelve

_**Author's Notes:**_

_Well I'm back, and hopefully I can continue this story with a little more normality in my life. I had a medical crisis in my family – my dad had his third stroke late February, and I had to help my mom take care of him and we basically lived in the hospital for almost a month. This threw my life into a curve, affecting my work, business and free time. But now things are getting better with my dad, and I've finished taking care of other things, that I've gotten some space to work on my hobbies a little bit again. Before I tried to write about Renaissance again, I've re-watched both SEED and Destiny and researched other references to get me up to speed with the series once more. I ask for patience if the quality of this chapter is not up to par with the others; my hiatus had all but screwed up my sucky writing skills._

_Aside from Renaissance, I have begun a project of making a Chronological Timeline for the Cosmic Era, one based on canon and the other integrating story details of Renaissance. It's still a work in process, so I won't be releasing it soon on the web. And the Renaissance timeline won't be released till the end of the story, as an annex or additional epilogue. I don't want to reveal all of the secrets of Renaissance just yet, so I won't make the Timeline available still._

_Some notes I've researched regarding the Three Ships Alliance: The name Three Ships Alliance was the name used by the Archangel, Kusanagi and Eternal to identify their rag-tag force during the First Bloody Valentine War, while Terminal was used in the Second War. At first I thought Terminal was the name of the Three Ships Alliance's factory satellite where the Eternal was docked and the Strike Freedom, Infinite Justice and the DOM Troopers were built. In some websites, however, they state that the TSA was renamed into Terminal, and that it became an intelligence organization with a expanded network of Orb Union and Clyne Faction personnel and supporters, with the aims of gathering intelligence and recruiting members from all the major world powers to protect Naturals and Coordinators alike and the active prevention of war. Though that sounded completely feasible, I have not come about anything to confirm this in Gundam SEED canon. However, for the case of uniformity in Renaissance, I will use Terminal in this way (as replacement for the TSA as the name of Kira and Lacus' group) but still call the factory satellite Terminal so as to simplify things. From now on, as you can see from my edits, I've changed the TSA into Terminal._

_Also, based on an interview with Shigeru Morita, he categorically confirms that both the ZGMF-X19A Infinite Justice and the ZGMF-X20A Strike Freedom are equipped and powered by Ultra-compact Hyper Deuterion Fission Reactors, the new generation power plants used by the ZGMF-X42S Destiny and ZGMF-X666S Legend. This totally screws up my notes: I figured that deuterion fission reactors were not available yet to Terminal because it was very recent technology, and most canon sources indicated that only Dullindal's Gundams possessed such reactors and the deuterion beam transfer system. So when I had the Destiny reincarnated to its current form, I replaced the lost reactor with a more common one, since I figured that there isn't another deuterion reactor in Terminal's hands yet. I've corrected the mistake, but it required a lot of revisions. Oh well. _

_Regarding the Orb Union's structure of government: though in some scenes in the anime it shows the Union's government as looking like a parliamentary system, there is a body of elders known as the Council of Emirs, which consists of aristocratic members of noble families (notably the Atthas, Seirans and Sahakus) which acts as the primary executive cabinet of the Union. I guess this is the group of leaders always shown meeting with the Chief Representative, but there must be another body, like a true parliament, acting as a legislative body and where Uzumi Nara Attha is shown addressing. I will use this as basis of the Orb Union's government in Renaissance._

_They've started showing the English-dubbed version of Gundam SEED Destiny here at our area on Toonami, and I hate to say it but I'm not impressed. In my opinion, nothing beats the original Japanese version – the choice for voice dubbers for the Destiny characters isn't that great, with the exception of Meyrin Hawke's and Arthur Trine, whose dubbers had nice voices and fit their characters. I really didn't like the editing out of Lacus Clyne's (Rie Tanaka's) voice in the song Fields of Hope during its insert in Phase 7 – it killed the beauty of the song, leaving only the instrumental part and the second vocals. Hopefully the English dubbers won't do that with Stellar's song later on the series, or it'll really wreck the anime. My advice for those who have not yet watched or completed Destiny: watch the original Japanese version, if you can get access to it. With only a few exceptions the English dub doesn't make the grade for me._

_With the release of this chapter, I will be reposting the other twelve. I've done some minor revisions, like I said above, and did as much grammar and spelling checks as I could. I've also fleshed out much of the story so far, with no major changes to the storyline. Please take time to re-read the preceding chapters, if you like._

_Once more thanks for reading this fanfiction, and I hope you enjoy this new chapter._

_SEED Mode On!

* * *

_

_**Disclaimers: **_

_Mobile Suit Gundam SEED is owned and copyrighted by Mitsuo Fukuda, the Sotsu Agency, Sunrise and BANDAI.

* * *

_

**Phase Twelve: The End of the Beginning

* * *

**

_**LHM-BB01 Minerva**_

_**South Atlantic**_

_**January 8, CE 75 **_

For Lunamaria, it was all exercise in patience as she quietly observed and studied the newcomer. She was looking over _Shousa_ Hanenfuss, taking into account her looks, habits and mannerisms, trying to catch other nuances about her personality that contributed to her being molded into a competent officer of the Zodiac Alliance of Freedom Treaty Militia. Hanenfuss was speaking to the _Kanchou_ now, relating her orders and circumstance as to why she came to the _Minerva_ in the current situation. The redcoat spoke in the precise manner for an officer to formally address a superior. From what she was telling them, her orders were interesting.

The _Kanchou_ sat silently as she listened to Hanenfuss, allowing the newcomer to speak uninterrupted. Taking her lead, Luna kept her own questions to herself from where she stood at the _Kanchou's_ left, while _Chusa_ Trine spoke for both of them - asking some minor queries and giving polite nods to Hanenfuss' replies. This went on for a good twenty minutes, before Hanenfuss concluded her report and the _Kanchou_ spoke up for the first time.

"Thank you, _Shousa_," Deveraux-_Kanchou_ started. "I'll study your orders together with the other reports you have delivered to me, but to cut a long story short, you are here officially to conduct test flights for the ZGMF-XX14A, before it is put into full mass production. You need to record how this GELGOOG operates in near-combat situations, specifically in atmospheric conditions. "

"_Hai_," replied Hanenfuss.

The _Kanchou_ dropped the packet into her desk drawer and put it away. "But I am also aware of your true reason why you were assigned to the _Minerva_. I take it that you have been briefed at high command about the thing we are doing?"

Hanenfuss nodded. "I was brought up to speed by Chairwoman Westenfluss and updated by Operations on the way here from the PLANTs. I've already studied the technical specifications about the Wraith – that's the database identification for the raider mobile suit you captured in Earth orbit – and I've been instructed to record more intelligence on it, for analysis and planning of effective countermeasures and tactics against them. I've also am to be assigned to reinforce the _Minerva's_ current mobile suit complement – what with the current lack of viable reinforcements from Gibraltar."

The _Kanchou_ bit her lip in thought. "That's what's giving some concern at the moment – your place in my chain of command. Currently you have seniority and outrank my team commander, _Tai-I_ Hawke." Luna saw the _Kanchou_ gestured at her. "I need to know if you are to take command of my team, or serve only as a member on a special capacity."

Luna waited for the newcomer's answer. She was deeply interested in this – Hanenfuss' reply could determine her own status in the mobile suit team. Though she been with the team from the start – being the only surviving original pilot in the team from the war still serving and having formed the Lady Hawks from scratch with the three rookie pilots – the _Kanchou_ was correct – Hanenfuss _did_ outrank her and had seniority. Though she would follow regulations and turn over her command to her if needed, Luna didn't like it one bit. This was _her_ team – they were formed from her efforts, and she would not turn it over that easily to someone she did not know except for what she heard and said in reports. She wasn't sure Hanenfuss was command material – the woman was not an Academy graduate and only got her commission from her work as a test pilot. Hanenfuss never had a formal command – though she had extensive combat experience, she had _never_ been a team commander in both wars. So deep inside she was angry that it was looking like she was going to lose her position to this newcomer.

So it was with great surprise and relief for Luna to hear Hanenfuss' curt reply.

"_Iie, Kanchou_. I won't be taking over the mobile suit squad. Command remains with _Tai-I_ Hawke here."

Inwardly, Luna breathed a sigh of relief. She was not losing her command to her. That was good. But the _Kanchou_ still had some more questions for Hanenfuss. "So you are here on special capacity," Devereux stated, and was rewarded by another nod from Hanenfuss. "Then I guess there are no more problems with your assignment here, _Shousa_. I welcome you to the _Minerva_." The _Kanchou_ stood up and shook Hanenfuss' hand. "I don't have anything for you to do for now, so I want you to make a tour of the ship to get yourself familiar with its layout. I will have a page take your gear to your quarters, and have _Tai-I_ Hawke show you around the _Minerva_. It's wise for the both of you to get to know each other better."

* * *

Luna led the _Shousa_ thru the corridors of the ship. She found the chestnut-haired officer very amiable and polite, asking questions about the _Minerva_ that were easy for Luna to answer, avoiding topics that were too sensitive to field. Luna felt a lot more comfortable around Hanenfuss, with the subject of team command now behind them, though she was still confused on how to tackle the subject of rank during operations. She knew that in ZAFT, ranks didn't usually play a major role in operations - what was important was that one must know the position she holds, and give proper respect to other higher posts. But the recent reforms implemented during the Dullindal administration gave more emphasis with formal ranks – the late Chairman emphasized the protocol of rank identification and seniority to further professionalize the militia, in attempt to avoid possible corruption from nepotism and playing favorites, which were prevalent during the first war. Though shunned for forcibly trying to implement his Destiny Plan, this little legacy of Dullindal was widely accepted by ZAFT, and still in effect now.

They were in the hanger area now, overlooking the massive mobile suit maintenance bay from a split level terrace. The two watched as maintenance crews, led by Luna's friends Vino Dupree and Youlan Kent, work over Madison's black GOUF Ignited like scurrying ants. Luna glanced over to where her Core Splendor fighter was billeted, the primary pilot component of the Impulse dormant and silent. The battle in Gibraltar was over a week ago, and Luna had not flown any dangerous mission aside from the usual CAP flight during their transit from the ZAFT base to where the _Minerva_ was currently was. Though a veteran combat pilot, surviving numerous battles in the second war, Luna didn't like the constant alert status. She was looking for a life of peace and quiet for a change – even though she was facing that future alone at the moment, she wanted to concentrate in keeping the peace and not fight in another war. And from the way things are, this new war was looking to her to be more brutal – a hidden war where one wasn't sure who the enemy was, since they didn't have a face seen by the public.

But Luna was sure of one face – the face that once more haunted her. She was sure that the woman she saw at Gibraltar _was_ Stellar Louisser, even though she knew her to be dead. And though she still couldn't prove it, she knew that the woman was involved in the Gibraltar attack. Call it woman's intuition, but to Luna it was too much of a coincidence. And even though the Kanchou didn't totally believe her, she supported her gut feelings and got the _Minerva_ prepared for the battle the came.

As prepared as it could be, as it played out. Between the disastrous failure of the catapult launch systems and the grave injuries to Hitomi, she barely survived the battle with raiders herself. They were tough – the one she fought herself, battled with a vengeance. Luna couldn't avoid thinking that the pilot of the black Wraith was the woman herself – again it was her instincts that was telling her this. She wanted to find out and get to the bottom of this, but she didn't know how. She was hoping the _Minerva's_ search will bring some things to life, and maybe Luna can find out more about the woman.

She thought about contacting Shinn about this, but Luna had second thoughts and forgot about it. At the moment she didn't want anything to do with him, and bringing this up could complicate things more. Deep inside she still cared for him, but she still felt the hurt from the events that led to their abrupt separation.

Her deep reverie was broken by Hanenfuss. "What's that over there?" she was asking, pointing at large object parked in a corner of the bay under a large tarpaulin.

"Oh, that," Luna blinked. "That's one of the older machines we have - about as old as the Impulse. It was destroyed during the fighting in Crete, but Gibraltar rebuilt and sent it to us as a replacement. We lost a ZAKU during the raider attack and there wasn't any other replacement available besides that."

Recognition dawned upon the _Shousa's_ face. "Oh I remember now. That was the one the Freedom took out over the Aegean. That's the red one –"

"_Hai, Shousa_."

Hanenfuss smiled. "Just call me Shiho, Luna-_chan_ – if you don't mind me calling you that."

Luna smiled back. "That's alright, _Shou_ – I mean, Shiho-_san_."

Shiho chuckled. "Good. I'm not really comfortable with the ranks thing. It wasn't that strict during the first war and never got used to it since then." She gestured at the covered object once more. "So what's the story on that one?"

Luna studied it for a moment. "I guess that'll be Hitomi's unit – she's one of my pilots. She's one of the best, but she has an obvious lack of confidence in herself. It might be because she's relatively inexperienced, but it nearly got her killed back in Gibraltar. She's at the med bay now but she's recovering nicely. I intend to put her back on the rotation after a week."

Shiho nodded. "I see. Do you think she'll be up to the job? Don't get me wrong Luna-_chan_ – I'm not criticizing you or your pilot's skills. But you and I know how tough it is to fight out there, and these terrorists can turn out to be tougher."

Luna sighed. "She'll be ready – she did survive that fight in Gibraltar. But I'm not just worried about her. I'm worried about the entire team, Shiho-_san_. Those terrorists are the worst I faced so far, and I'm scared for the safety of the girls. They're just kids, for goodness' sakes."

Shiho patted her on the shoulder. "We were _all_ kids when we started fighting the wars. In fact we _still are_. We just lost the innocence we had the first time we killed someone from the other side." Luna saw Shiho's eyes turned serious. "We just have to teach your girls what we've learned to keep them alive. We owe that much to them as officers."

"_Hai_."

Shiho straightened up. "Tell you what – why don't you show me were the mess hall is and we'll share some thoughts on how we could integrate me and the GELGOOG into your squad. I haven't anything to eat since the drop, and I want to meet the rest of the team. I need to get up to speed with your tactics, and soon those terrorists are gonna rue the day they took on the _Minerva_. Then we can all live our lives the way we want too, without worrying that some fools like that will come to hurt us. They'll never know what hit them."

* * *

_**Orb Union Administration Building**_

_**Orb City**_

_**Orb Union**_

_**January 8, CE 75**_

"And with that, ladies and gentlemen, I conclude my briefing," _Chusa_ Ford Tourneville said in finishing, shutting off the large viewing screen that dominated one wall of the conference room. While what the intelligence officer revealed was interesting, including the name of the black mobile suits courtesy of the shared information coming via the PLANT's embassy, there wasn't anything new in the report to catch Cagalli's eye. Aside from the knowledge that the _Archangel_ had safely arrived at their first relay point, the rest were routine. It had been frustrating for her to wait for news about the ship's progress for the last week, and Athrun's presence on board just added to her anxieties. And the situation among the citizens of Orb was not helping her either.

Though it had been several days from the last terrorist attack, tensions were still high in Orb and in most states on Earth and on the PLANTs. The general sentiment of the people started as one of outrage - the loss of life and security put grave uncertainties to their sense of normalcy. But now the tide of discontent was beginning to grow, starting with the small group of anti-war protestors now gathered in front of the gates of the Administration Building and Onogoro Naval Base. Though relatively still peaceful, Cagalli could feel the anger of the protesters. But the impetus of their rage was slowing changing from the terrorists to her administration itself.

Having been raised in a politically charged environment, plus experiencing the hands-on aspect of governing for most of the past three years, Cagalli had learned enough to gauge the populace's moods. She knew that once the people turn away from you, things will get a lot tougher to get done. And now she could that it was starting – and now she begun to feel the pressure. Something had to be done about this, and for the last few days she had gathered her closest advisors available for the moment to help her sort this out.

The problem was that most of her trusted friends and advisor were gone at the moment, most of them on the _Archangel_ on a dangerous, covert operation in search for the terrorists. With her inner circle of Murrue-san, Mu-san, Lacus and – most importantly – Kira and Athrun gone, she had to rely on who was left behind. With the exception of Kisaka and Andrew Waltfeld, Cagalli could not depend upon the rest totally, for various reasons.

Barton Omura, who had also survived the Oslo attack and came home a few days after Cagalli, would have been one that she knew she could depend upon for support, being her father's staunch ally during the days leading to the invasion by the Atlantic Federation in first war. But the problem with Omura was that he was a strict non-interventionist – though he supported Cagalli's decision to once again fight with the TSA against Dullindal's Destiny Plan, he did so with misgivings and reluctant support. And with this new mission by the _Archangel_ crew, Cagalli was sure that her Uncle wont be more supportive than usual, and she had contemplated not telling him at all, but was counseled by Kisaka and Tourneville to let Omura in on the operation – an advice Cagalli saw as strange for the two, having learned that the more people learned of an operation like this, the more of a security risk there could be.

And when Kisaka and Omura argued vehemently about the mission during the first briefing Omura was present, Cagalli almost thought that this was a mistake and the mission was over. But the two older gentlemen reached a compromise at the end of their argument – that the _Archangel_ was not going to be involved in direct combat operations against the terrorist group - with the exception of self defense - and that Orb will officially deny their involvement in such operations should it ever came to light. From the very start, Cagalli had already reluctantly accepted such realities, having agreed to leave direct action with ZAFT, according to the limited cooperation she had agreed upon with PLANT officials with the support of Chairwoman Katarina Westenfluss. Though a shaky agreement at best, it gave Orb an excuse not to strike on its own. But Omura had pointed it out that should that agreement comes out into the open it was a direct violation of the neutral stand of the Union. And Omura had been reminding her about these problems in every one of the briefings he had attended so far.

With Tourneville, it was a matter of not knowing the person enough to trust him implicitly. He was pretty competent in his job, Cagalli had to hand it to him, but she still felt uncomfortable around him. She didn't know why – was it because he was an intelligence officer, and Cagalli had been a victim of faulty intelligence once or twice or that she had this preconception that intelligence types were _devious_ individuals. Or was it that Kisaka never asked him to share operational ideas in the meetings – but that was easily explained – he was an intelligence officer, not operations. She wasn't sure about him except for one thing – Cagalli _wasn't_ sure about him, and he made her feel nervous.

In the case of her private secretary, it was simple: Veronica Hathaway was an inexperienced civilian, not like Omura who previously had some experience in the uniformed service. Cagalli trusted her and Veronica was a friend, but she had no practical knowledge on military operations – all the more special operations - to make her an asset for such discussions. Though she was a confidante, Cagalli can't just confide matters pertaining to the _Archangel_ to her. Veronica, though a close friend, was too much of a security risk.

Cagalli wasn't even sure if the people of Orb could even support such a mission – this action was directly against the precepts of neutrality his father had advocated for their country and was accepted by the people. Sure, Orb did veer away from the non-intervention stance during crucial points of the last war, but at least they were open to see for all intents – Yuna's disastrous alliance with the Atlantic Federation and Cagalli's joining forces with the Three Ships Alliance and Terminal after Orb was attacked twice. The people could support that, even in a misguided way, but Cagalli wasn't sure of how the peace-loving people of Orb would react if they found out that their government was prosecuting a covert war against terrorists in lands outside their territorial boundaries.

So Cagalli had to rely more on Kisaka and Waltfeld. Her trusted former bodyguard and foremost military commander was present in the meeting, but the Desert Tiger wasn't. According to Kisaka, Waltfeld was currently busy with something else. Cagalli tried to ask what it was before the start of the meeting, but the silent shake of the head from Kisaka hinted that it was better to be discussed between only the two of them later.

Kisaka was now speaking after his subordinate from Military Intelligence. "Thank you, _Chusa_ Tourneville." The tall officer brought up the technical readouts of the black raider mobile suits, now updated by the intelligence kindly shared by ZAFT. "As you can see from these specifications, this Wraith is a powerful mobile suit. Like we established thru our own analysis, it was designed as a deep raider using incredible stealth capabilities and firepower. In the hands of a group with the resources to build several of these machines, plus capital ships to support them, makes them very dangerous."

"Therefore I have to strongly suggest to the Chief Representative that we exert all of our efforts to locate the source of these machines, and that will eventually lead us to the terrorists. We have to proceed with this carefully, but we have to assume that the raiders may strike again. I believe we should increase our support of the _Archangel_ in their search – they, for the moment, are our best hope of success."

Omura tapped his fingers as he sat up from his seat. "Though I agree with much of _Chujo_ Kisaka's assessments, again I would like to remind the Chief Representative of the Union's credo of neutrality, and the need to work with that boundary. We cannot risk an international incident by having the _Archangel's_ movements exposed to the public as having the Orb Union's support, tacit or otherwise."

"What do suggest, Emir Omura?" Kisaka asked. "Do you suggest we cut off all support to the _Archangel_? May I remind the honorable Emir of the contribution of that ship to the security and safety of the Orb Union."

Omura shook his head. "Again I do not question the validity of your statements, _Chujo_. I only am concerned with the diplomatic standing of the Union in the eyes of the other sovereign states. We cannot risk them to be detected, not can we allow them to act directly against the terrorists, however much that they have hurt the Union."

"I understand, Emir Omura, your concerns," Kisaka agreed. "That is why I am doing everything there is to see to it that the Archangel succeed without detection. However, based on information we just received from the ship, they may have a problem in keeping their movements secret from the enemy."

Kisaka stood up from his chair and took out a disk from his briefcase. "This just came in this morning from SIGINT. I've just scanned it over once myself, and haven't let it pass through our intelligence analysts for checking." Cagalli took a glance at Chusa Tourneville, and saw from the face of the gray haired officer that he was as surprised as she was about new report. Sliding in onto a drive, Kisaka accessed the information on the disk and put in on the viewscreen.

Cagalli's surprise grew as she took in what was presented. It was a text report from Murrue Ramius, with accompanying video, showing what looked like a mobile suit between the Archangel's complement against black raiders. The clip showed what looked like the GAT-X103 Buster, standing on the command carrier's deck, engaging the Wraiths as they swarmed over it. Other scenes showed the Strike Freedom launching and engaging the nearby Wraiths before flying away. Cagalli was slightly disappointed and worried that there was no footage of the Infinite Justice – that made her feel more uneasy about Athrun's participation in the mission. She silently prayed that he was all right, before she turned to Kisaka for questions. "When did this happen?"

Kisaka double checked his information before answering her. "From _Taisa_ Ramius' report, the battle happened five days ago, in the middle of a typhoon that hit the South Pacific, sometime after the first transmission was sent to us at the relay point. They apparently had to choose another relay point to send this new transmission. They had to get to a safe area with the risk of another attack."

"You mean they were ambushed?" this was Hathaway, speaking out for the first time.

"That's correct, Veronica. They were hit after they surfaced to contact the satellite. Though they repelled the attack, there was damage to the Akatsuki and Destiny Phoenix. _Taisa_ La Flaga was injured, but it was minor and he's back in action. They repulsed the strike but have yet to find out how they were jumped or where the Wraiths came from. Ramius has indicated that they suspect a submarine carrier operating nearby, which coincides with initial intelligence on how the Wraiths egressed from Onogoro in December. But Ramius saw it more prudent to withdraw from the area before attempting to make chase or contact us."

"So how was it they were detected?" Omura questioned. "Weren't they submerged? And from the looks of it, they were fighting in a storm. Wouldn't that make it hard for them to be detected?"

Kisaka shook his head. "Ramius has not said anything specific. We can't be sure how they were spotted, but there are a lot of possibilities. One possibility was they were just unlucky enough to stray unto a scout or reconnaissance unit, which relayed their location to the rest of its allies. The other possibility, which I don't want to believe but can't take for granted, was that the terrorists were waiting for them."

Cold fear gripped Cagalli. "What do you mean waiting for them? Do you think someone tipped them off?"

The tall general sighed. "We can't discount it, Chief Representative. We don't know what kind of resources these terrorists have. But with the kind that we know they have, we have to assume they have the network to operate against us this way."

Kisaka turned to his intelligence officer. "Since this report is just hot off the wire, we haven't had time to study it. I'll leave it to you, Tourneville, to assess Ramius' idea and check for probable security concerns."

"_Hai, Chujo_."

"How reliable is this information? Could this be an elaborate hoax?" That was Omura.

Kisaka shrugged. "_Iie_, sir. I can assure you this is reliable. The authentication from the _Archangel_ is confirmed, though they had to use an older, emergency code when they transmitted this."

"How come?"

"The situation must have required it. Since they were attacked, with the possibility that someone leaked out their location or they were detected in-transit, they had to be careful when transmitting this."

Omura stared silently at the screen for a few moments before speaking again. "Are you sure they are still safe and undetected by anyone other than the terrorists? What is the chance that an Atlantic Federation unit may have spotted them?"

"From what we know, they haven't encountered any Atlantic Federation unit, and they took a route that took them away of known AF patrol areas. So no, I'm sure that the _Archangel_ has _no_t been seen by the Atlantic Federation," Kisaka concluded firmly.

"I think the Chujo has presented that point very clearly for me, Uncle Bart," Cagalli added, forestalling any other questions from the Emir. "Let's move on with the discussion. _Chujo_ Kisaka, is there anything else you'd like to add?"

"_Iie_, Madam Chief Representative. I would like to have Intelligence run through this first. There might be something I missed."

Cagalli nodded assent. "Very well, are there any other questions?" No one else indicated as such. "Let's adjourn this meeting for now. I would like Chusa Tourneville to prepare a brief for twenty hundred hours tonight. We'll all meet again here for that. Veronica, please secure the minutes of this meeting – let no one else have access to it except for those in this room. Okay this meeting is over." As everyone started shuffling out of their seats, Cagalli saw Kisaka approach him. "Something on your mind, Kisaka-_sama_?"

"Hai, Madam Chief Representative. I like to go over some things with you if you had the time."

Cagalli looked at her secretary. "Your next meeting is in thirty minutes, Cagalli-_sama_. With the Trade Minister regarding the tariffs on imported foodstuffs from the Eurasian Federation," said Veronica. "I can prepare the meeting here if you want too."

"That's fine, Veronica. Just page me when everything is ready and the Minister is here. I'll just talk to Kisaka-_sama_ in my office."

"_Hai_, Chief Representative," Veronica responded in leaving. For his part, Kisaka dismissed Tourneville, saying that he'd follow and meet him at headquarters later.

As soon as the others left, Cagalli turned his attention to his friend once more. "Is there some thing else you wanted to show me without the rest of them within earshot?"

Kisaka smiled. "We'd better talk in your office, Cagalli."

Five minutes later, they arrived at the plush office where Cagalli did her work as Chief Representative. As Cagalli sat in her chair, Kisaka pulled out his PDA, and tapped it a few times. A beeping from the PDA was heard, and Kisaka nodded contently. "You're office is secure, Cagalli," he said, revealing that he'd activated the software that gave added protection against listening and recording devices.

For her part, Cagalli completed a subroutine on her laptop that encrypts any documents using codes provided for by Terminal. As soon as she finished, Kisaka handed her another disk that he kept in his coat pocket. "That's from the _Archangel_ too – a message from Athrun. The subject code indicated that's it's not a personal one, but contains further information for Alpha-level Terminal officer's eyes only."

Slightly disappointed that it wasn't a message meant for only her, Cagalli slid the disk into her laptop's drive. She opened the Soule/Gildden 120011 document reader, and waited for the program to read the disk, which took longer the usual as the encryption system kicked in and added security features to the file. Cagalli had to enter a total of four different passwords before the program revealed the contents of the file.

The somber face of Athrun appeared on a window in her screen. He looked haggard and disheveled - his hair unruly, his uniform collar skewered and the hints of facial hair appearing on his smooth, white face. Cagalli took in the look of exhaustion on his face, but beyond that she saw that he was unhurt and healthy.

"Cagalli, when you received this message, you've already known that the _Archangel_ was just attacked by the raiders," Athrun's face started speaking. "But I'm glad to report that everyone's fine and nobody's been hurt. We took some damage to our units, but we can work on it."

"I recommended to Ramius-_Kanchou_ to delay our report on the incident because of several factors. First was we had to break away from the combat area to be able to transmit in safety. Next was the storm had made conditions less feasible for a clear transmission. We also had to wait for a clear window for the communications satellite to be in line of sight of the ship."

"But the most important reason why we delayed our communications is that we have ample evidence that we were tracked to our relay point by the enemy, or that they were waiting for us. Furthermore, we suspect that the satellite relay has been compromised. We found an anomaly in the transfer protocol of the system: rather than only sending out a message to the satellite, the _Archangel's_ system sent out another signal to an unknown destination, though we suspect it was the enemy vessel that launched the attack on us. I've worked out the details, and Kira, Chandra-_san_ and Meyrin had all checked and concurred with my findings."

"What this all means are two things: either there was someone who tampered with the _Archangel's_ relay system back at Angel's Point before we left, or that someone in the crew did something while in transit. Bottom line – somebody knows of the mission and is doing the best to sabotage it."

"I know that this puts a serious complication to the mission, but we have to continue it, Cagalli. But we need your help all the more. You probably know by now that Kira and I devised a plan that _might_ work, but I need Waltfeld-_sama's_ support from your end." Cagalli did know about Athrun's plan, but she can't seem to avoid having misgivings with his crazy idea. She was about to voice out her thoughts but it seemed Athrun had read her mind and was ready for it. "I know what you're going to say, Cagalli, that this plan is crazy and so are Kira and me. But you have to realize that we're on the best position now to orchestrate this, and you can trust me when I say that we could make this work. All we need now is for Waltfeld-_sama_ to come through."

"We'll be waiting for them at the rendezvous point we've chosen." Athrun read out the coordinates and the time of their arrival. "We'll abort the mission should the contact fail to arrive. We'll have a window of fifteen minutes to wait for him. The _Archangel_ will not wait for a reply to this message – it's too risky. We'll just wait at the rendezvous point for results."

"Trust me on this Cagalli. I promise that we'll all be careful and get back to Orb safe." Athrun looked like he wanted to add something else in his message, but stopped himself and ended the recording.

Cagalli closed down her laptop and fell silent for awhile, before standing up and facing Kisaka again. "You think they can succeed? I'm concerned for their safety, with their security compromised – "

"I understand how you feel, Cagalli," Kisaka replied. "But you know that I think we should trust Athrun with this. If there are two persons in the world who could pull it off, it's Athrun and your brother." Kisaka smiled. "You should know that by now."

"I know and I agree with you Kisaka. It's just –", Cagalli stomped her foot in frustration. "It's just that those two idiots always do things that are stupid and dangerous. They make me worry a lot."

"Ramius and La Flaga would not have approved of their plan if they think they can't do it. And Lacus-_sama_ would also voice out her disapproval if she felt so."

"But they didn't," Cagalli finished. She placed her palms on her table and let them carry her weight as she tilted her head. She was tired – the stress of being a nation's leader had caught up with her. And this plan was adding to her weariness. But she knew she had to support Athrun in this. Kisaka was right – Athrun _was_ the right man for the job.

If only she didn't feel anything for him to worry about too much. "Alright, what do we need to do?"

Kisaka grinned. "We've already started. Andrew had already left to contact someone before the meeting stared. He'll take care of the preparations on our side." He dropped his voice by a few notches. "I think its better to let him handle this alone. I recommend we keep this out of the regular chain of command."

Cagalli raised her eyebrows. "You think there'd a _mole_ here in Orb?"

Kisaka nodded. "I don't want to say it, but we have to assume there is."

Cagalli sighed. "Okay, I'll agree with it. Athrun can do what he wants and well send him the support he needs. We'll pray for their success and safety in the same time, for those coincide with the security and safety of Orb as well."

* * *

_**Kuzzey's Koffee Korner**_

_**Orb City**_

_**Orb Union**_

_**January 8, CE 75 **_

For Kuzzey Bushkirk, business was doing well. He couldn't say booming, feeling humble with himself. But it was easy to see that his entrepreneurial endeavor was bearing fruit for him. Kuzzey started this little coffee shop as soon as he finished college in Scandinavia, where, like many of the Orb Union's residents, he and his family sought refuge after the Earth Alliance's invasion of Orb over three years ago.

During those days, Orb was undergoing a period of healing and reconstruction, and the majority of the citizens had returned and enthusiastically taken to the task of rebuilding their lives and their nation. Orb was enjoying a high status in the diplomatic scene in the post-War world, with its heroic stand and sacrifice against the invading EA military and its surviving leadership's important part played in the ending of the War at Jachin Due. Orb was enjoying the benefits of its newfound influence. One major benefit was the influx of financial capital into the country, thanks to reparations by the Atlantic Federation and favored nation status on trade from the other powers.

A construction boom had started, and many young entrepreneurs took the chance of sizable loans with low interest rates and long payment years to start up new business all over the archipelago. Most were service oriented, catering to providing goods and services to the reconstruction work on the island's primary infrastructure. Kuzzey, after talking with his parents, took a loan and opened up the coffee shop here in the middle of Orb City's commercial district, with a healthy variety of clientele that could be invited to enjoy the quality drinks he served.

However, like any new business, the coffee shop started to encounter the usual problems. Being new, it was agonizingly slow for the shop to attract customers over the bigger, more established places. Initial profits were low, and soon Kuzzey was having the problem of nearly failing to complete his monthly payments for expenses and loans. At times he thought of closing down, but more level heads suggested that he find investors, an idea Kuzzey realize was sensible. To his good fortune, investors did come to him, though in a very surprising day, as one day in July, CE 73, his friend Kira Yamato dropped by to say hi.

Kuzzey hadn't seen Kira since he disembarked from the _Archangel_ after the ship's harrowing escape from the devastated Earth Alliance JOSH-A Base. It was a terrifying time for Kuzzey, forced into boarding the vessel during the battle in Heliopolis, and serving on its crew during is dangerous journey to Earth and false safety. Though he was proud to have served with the ship and its crew, he decided to leave it once the ship docked back in Orb. He felt shame for abandoning his crew, but his friends never blamed him for leaving, and some of them kept in touch with him when the fighting was over.

Kira came in the company of Lacus Clyne, the Coordinator girl the Archangel rescued when it detoured into the ruins of Junius Seven to scavenged badly needed supplies. It was Clyne who then took care of Kira when he was rescued after the Strike was destroyed, and who provided him with the Freedom. She also played a important role with the ending of the First War, joining forces with Orb and the Archangel in stopping both Earth and the PLANTs from destroying one another. And from bits and pieces Kuzzey found out from rumors and the infrequent news from his friends, the pink-haired songstress had also won the heart of Kira, and that the two were inseparable partners.

During an hour or so spent catching up, Kuzzey found himself talking about his shop and the small problems he was encountering. Clyne was especially interested in the economics part, being more knowledgeable with that topic than Kira was. Kuzzey, feeling comfortable with her despite his past inferiority complex when it comes to Coordinators, found this conversation revealing and profitable, especially when the couple made an offer to invest in the shop. Also, Kira offered to bring in another investor, a friend of theirs that had a direct source supplier of high-grade coffee from Brazil.

Kuzzey pondered that one out. Kira had a good point there – it would give his shop an advantage of the competition, and a direct source would bring down expenses. Kuzzey was excited with this new opportunity, but then he saw the look in Kira's face. He asked him what it was, but all Kira said was there was a catch. When asked, all Kira answered was that it was better if Kuzzey met the person face to face and talked with the rest of his other potential investors so that he'd understand better.

So Kuzzey, interested in Kira's offer but still wary of his other, hidden agendas, reluctantly accepted the offer to talk, albeit with the condition that there was nothing illegal with what they were doing – a comment that drew a laugh from the usually somber Kira.

And that was a year and a half ago, and to cut the story short, Kuzzey accepted their offer, finding out that most of the investors were his old friends and companions, plus a few new people he had just met. And their conditions were fair - and generally not dangerous. The Clyne Foundation investment was more than Kuzzey expected, and the covert preferred treatment he was receiving from some high officials from the Orb government was invaluable. He finally had enough money to payoff and close his loans, and expand his business. He also came back into closer contact with his friends, and gained more in the process. He also found himself _involved_ again, in a more low-key and safer way.

Today he had one of the shop investors present, and he was expecting another to drop by to talk. The first one was a quiet person and one of Kuzzey's favorite customers, since Reverend Malchio enjoyed spending some quiet time in the shop during his infrequent visits to Orb from his orphanage in the Marshall Island chain. Kuzzey met the blind priest when Kira introduced him when he and the orphans had dropped by Orb for a vacation two years ago, and the Reverend had come to enjoy his brew, and would drop by to buy a sizable supply to ship back with him to the Orphanage. He was currently enjoying the cool breeze from his seat at an outdoor table, sipping on his cup of cappuccino that Kuzzey gladly refills at his kind request. Kuzzey would stop by and sit down with the priest for a short conversation, while his baristas and waiters handled other customers.

He was having one of these conversations when the other investor finally arrived. The tall man was wearing that yellow shirt and beige pants he always favored, and leaned on a walking stick as he walked at an almost militarily precise step, saved for the slight limp form his left leg. He purposely strode over to their table, and smiled as he spoke up for the first time. "I see you that you got here first, Malchio-_sama_."

The priest nodded. "I saw that you were busy with something, so I asked Caridad to drop me off as she went shopping with the older kids." He gestured at the newcomer to sit in a vacant chair.

"_Hai_, I've got some business that concerns our friends out sailing." The man sat down on the chair and stretched. "And I have some stuff to go over with Kuzzey here. I heard that there might be some new beans from Brazil that we could get. I was thinking ordering them now before things get a lot tougher out there. What with this new fighting going. Do you mind if I do it first before we have our usual?"

Malchio nodded. "Go ahead. I can wait."

The man jerked his head at Kuzzey, looking at him behind the black sunglasses that hid his one good eye and his scarred one. "Can we talk over at the bar, Kuzzey?" The bar area, Kuzzey noticed, was currently empty.

"_Hai_," Kuzzey answered, as he stood and led the newcomer inside the shop. The newcomer got behind the bar, and started to make his own brew. Kuzzey quickly learned that he was a connoisseur of coffee, and was an excellent barista, even better than himself and his other employees. In fact, most of the new brews the Koffee Korner offered were original concoctions of this person.

"That orange and hazelnut cold coffee is doing good sales," Kuzzey reported, indicating the man's most recent concoction.

"That's good. The citrus flavor mixed well with the Arabica and the Indonesian stuff, didn't it?"

"Uh, _Hai_." Kuzzey shifted uncomfortably from where he stood. "Was there anything you want to talk about, sir?"

The man nodded, and took out a data disk and placed it on the bar top. "I was thinking of ordering some of that new Argentinean beans we've been hearing off. Can you contact our friend over there? I want to get stock for the shop and some for myself – I'll pay separately off course."

Kuzzey took the disk and looked at it. "Okay, I can do that. This holds the order list?" The man nodded again. "Let me send it now."

Kuzzey left the bar and walked into his small office at the back of the coffee shop. The small room was only as large as an office cubicle, and much more crowded with merchandise and office supplies. Kuzzey navigated around the a few boxes of sale items and got into his seat, opening up his laptop and logging on unto his website. He slid the disk into the drive and entered his password.

An encryption system, similar to that of Cagalli's, kicked in, manipulating the contents of the disk, changing the words into the code developed by Terminal for its own use, converting sensitive information in a more harmless form. In his case, Kuzzey copied the new document, which was in a form of an order form for Argentinean and Brazilian coffee beans, using official purchasing forms used by the coffee shop. He copied the document, opened up his email software, pasted the document on the composition screen, and sent it out to his friend in Argentina, knowing that he had the necessary system to read the contents correctly. Kuzzey shut down the software, and took out the disk. An automated system would clean up any traces of the encryption, thus leaving no trail of its sending.

Satisfied, Kuzzey closed down his laptop and stood up, remembering to slide the disk in between two half-pound bags of Robusta beans in a larger paper bag which he carried as he returned back to the bar. There he handed the coffee beans over the man. "I sent out the order, sir. I'll call you when it's processed. And here are the beans Mrs. Yamato ordered – tell her they're on the house."

The man grinned. "Thank you Kuzzey. The kids like the cold coffee drink we make from these beans. Since she's not here yet, I guess I'll enjoy a drink first with the Reverend here."

"That disk – that has something to do with the attack in Onogoro and why Kira and the others aren't back."

The man snickered. "You could say that. I really can't talk about it, Kuzzey – you know the rules. But what you are doing is a great help."

"You're welcome, Waltfeld-_sama_. I'm just happy I can do something to help for a change."

The Desert Tiger smiled as he took a sip from his cup. "And helped you did, Kuzzey."

* * *

_**Archangel**_

_**South Pacific**_

_**January 9, CE 75**_

Shinn found himself inside the Destiny's cockpit, sweating in his flightsuit as he flew the mobile suit across the darkness of space. He was taking flight, for his new enemy was relentless. Whatever he threw at it had no effect – his beams were deflected away, his sword broken in two as it struck harmless on the enemy's black armor. He was struggling to survive against this foe, a foe Shinn felt he could not defeat.

_You let me die…_

Shinn heard an alarm blare from the left side of his cockpit seat, and saw the angry beam blade slice of the Destiny's left arm. The black demon raised its rifle and fired, the beam narrowly missing the cockpit, as it sliced across the Destiny's torso. An explosion destroyed the blast shield of the cockpit, taking the HUD with it, shattering the glass monitor and raining deadly fragments all over the cockpit. Shinn felt the shrapnel slice into his skin, and the pain was unbearable. A howl of pain escaped Shinn's lips, and the sound was primal. Shinn felt that he was losing his consciousness, as Death extended his cold grip to him. Shinn fought desperately, but he knew he was losing this battle.

_You let me die…_

A cry to his right forced Shinn to face that direction, every motion he took only amplified the pain he felt. From his blurring sight he saw the Impulse flying towards him, and the voice of Lunamaria crying out for him to hear. Shinn tried to get to her, but she blocked from view by the black demon, murderously diving for her.

_You let me die…_

Shinn tried to scream a warning for Luna, but no voice came out of him except his scream of terror, as the demon thrust its black hand into the Impulse's chest. A bright flash of light blinded him, as a deep fire burned into the Impulse cockpit, searing it pilot into a melted heap, causing Luna's blood to spurt forth like a terrifying fountain, coloring the blackness of space in blood red.

_You let me die…_

Once more the Shinn's was deafened by his own screams. He could not break free from the terrible vision he saw – the beautiful face of Lunamaria scorched into a charred mass of bone and rotting flesh. He could not escape from this nightmare, as the demon once more lunged for him. Shinn thrust the Destiny's right hand forward, hoping the catch the demon with the hand beam he could dangerously project. But the demons brushed the hand away like an insignificant fly, and Shinn felt the pain as he savagely pulled out of the Destiny's cockpit by the demon's left hand.

_You let me die…_

The hand gripped tighter, threatening to squeeze out the remaining ounce of life from Shinn as it squeezed his bones and blood into dust. But as he felt Death dominate him, the demon's chest opened up, and a lithe apparition came out to face him.

And seeing her face once more, Shinn understood why he was feeling this pain, suffering this nightmare.

Stellar looked at him, her beautiful face contorted in rage, brought by betrayal and the loss of trust. Her body was bloody, pierced by sharp fragments from the shattered remains of the Destroy's cockpit. Her eyes were cold, lifeless, staring at nothing and through Shinn.

_You let me die…_

Stellar jumped on top of Shinn, and grabbed his collar. Removing his helmet, Stellar crushed his throat with her left hand, as she pointed her pistol on Shinn's head. Shinn nodded, understanding her right to take his life. He surrendered himself, eagerly awaiting the end to his life, and the beginning of his damnation. And as he felt the bullet enter his skull and shatter his brain, his last word was whispered for only Stellar to hear.

"_Gomen_."

* * *

And then all was black. And then all was colors.

Shinn opened his eyes, and found himself in the pier in Orb were he saw the frightening scene of his family's deaths. Shinn wanted to run away, but a soft and warm hand stopped him. Fearing to gaze unto the person's face, Shinn turned to see Stellar smiling at him. She was enveloped in a shining aura of light, and her kind features were different from the angry one that he surrendered too.

And in a soft, loving voice, Stellar spoke.

_Do not believe all that you see, Shinn…_

Shinn was confused, and he could bear the sight of Stellar - he couldn't bear her looking at him with love when he betrayed her. But she kept looking, and stroked his face with a warm and soft hand.

All Shinn wanted to do at that point was to die in her arms. But she raised him up to his feet and gazed into his red eyes.

_No, it is not your time, Shinn. You must live on. You must find…_

Shinn couldn't hear her voice, as a loud thumping was vibrating on his head. He tried to shake it away, but couldn't. Stellar was still smiling, but her translucent form was fading, flying away from him. Shinn wanted to make chase, but his legs wont let him, frozen in place by some out worldly will.

_Tomorrow, Shinn, tomorrow. You will find…_

But the voice faded away, as Shinn opened his eyes reluctantly, as voices from the world of the living brought him back from the world of the dead.

* * *

He sat up from his bed suddenly, as the first signs of the vibrating headache came crashing down on him. Shinn was breathing heavily, resupplying the air he lost as he almost smothered himself as he slept. Cold sweat drenched his tight and firm body, as it convulsed from the fear and adrenalin that were rushing in his blood.

It was that dream again, but now it was more vivid, more real. Again he saw the anger and mistrust in Stellar's lifeless eyes, and again he felt the death that should had come for him on the Moon enslave him.

But there was also something else in the dream, something he had yet to encounter since the Moon - a Stellar that loved him, showing him tomorrow. She had a message, but he couldn't come to understand with all the chaos of life surrounding him. But one thing was clear – tomorrow. Shinn felt something important will happen - be it the next day or in the shrouded future, but soon.

Slowly Shinn slid out of bed, and stumbled into his quarter's bathroom. Ramius had kindly assigned him a vacant junior officer's quarters – a room with two single beds and a private bathroom, which allowed for more privacy. Since no one wanted to bunk with him, had the room all to his self, which suited him fine. Shinn reached the wash basin, and opened the faucet. Cold water rushed down, and Shinn rubbed them on his face, waking him completely back to reality, shaken the dried tears of the nightmare away.

He heard the ringing of the door chime buzz behind him, alerting him to the presence of someone at his door. It might be Dearka, since the ZAFT officer was the only one who had the courage to bother him at this time of day – or was it night? Shinn wasn't sure. Time in a submerged ship was screwed up, and Shinn tried to follow the Archangel's work shifts to keep track of the hours. But ever since that dogfight in the storm and the strange encounter with Kira Yamato, Shinn had basically shut himself out from the rest. Since then he had not even visited the Destiny Phoenix, and avoided everyone else, keeping to himself even as he sat in the mess hall for his meals.

Wiping his face with a bath towel, Shinn reluctantly left the bathroom and headed for the main door. Unlocking it from a security console, Shinn watched with confusion as the door slid open, revealing a smug looking Dearka Elsman standing there, the grin pasted on his face holding a promise of trouble. "Good morning Shinn," the blonde Buster pilot said as he jerked his head backwards. "Me and my friend here has something to ask you."

"Who – " Shinn asked quizzically, before he shut up in surprise as he saw who stood behind Dearka.

Kira Yamato was there, looking impassively at him. "Can we come in Shinn?" Yamato asked.

Shinn looked between his two visitors. It was troublesome for him enough that Dearka was here – his presence usually meant that Dearka felt that Shinn needed a little straightening out. But since the last episode when the Buster pilot dragged him out of bed, Shinn was expecting it and was ready – he was pretty sure Dearka couldn't do that again.

But Yamato being here was all entirely different and unexpected. Shinn had practically avoided him ever since their scene after the storm battle and Yamato did very much the same. They virtually ignored each other, even in the rare moments they met along the corridors of the ship, or spent the same time for meals in the crew mess. While Shinn felt none of the initial hostility he felt for Yamato since the Archangel returned to Orb, Shinn was content with their cold exchange. As much as he hated Yamato, he was stuck with working with him as long as he was with the ship.

This was the first time Yamato faced him since then, and Shinn was surprised he could be this direct. Thankfully for both that Dearka was here, or else it could been ugly. Shinn could respect Dearka, having gained his trust. The Buster pilot also didn't show any bias between the two – he just did things his own way. Had it not for his presence, Shinn didn't feel confident he could have held back what he feeling for Yamato at the moment.

Shinn glared at Yamato for a second, wondering what to do with him. Finally he relented, better to listen to what he had to say and get it over with than be pestered continuously to listen to him. Shinn stepped away from the doorway and gestured the two to enter. He turned his back to them, as he opened his locker to take out a fresh blue ZAFT undershirt that was once part of his military uniform to wear. "Well?"

It was Dearka who first spoke. "We've got a plan we've put together, to find some clues on the raiders. Athrun wanted to bring you up to speed and fill you in."

Shinn finished putting on the shirt, and looked at himself on a wall mirror. He could see Yamato looking at him from the reflection. "What does it have to do with me?"

"We need your help Shinn." This was Yamato. Shinn quickly turned to the Freedom pilot.

"So you guys think I can do something, huh? You think you can trust me to do the job without thinking of killing any of you?"

The two other men looked at each, before they both turned their attention back to Shinn. "_Hai_. I know we can trust you. _I_ trust you." Yamato answered. Dearka just smiled.

Shinn felt his blood burn all the more with they Yamato replied calmly. But he was also curious of what they were up to. "Go ahead."

Yamato turned his gaze away from Shinn, concentrating on Mayu's pink cellular phone that was lying on top of the small work table at the foot of Shinn's bunk. Shinn followed Yamato's gaze and looked at the phone too. He was taking in the details of the object, and was imagining Mayu talking to someone or sending a message with the phone, as Yamato and Dearka took turns describing Athrun's plan.

Yamato and Dearka fell silent as the Freedom pilot finished talking. They refrained from speaking again, and Shinn saw them watching him intently, waiting for his comments on the proposed plan of action.

Shinn couldn't stop himself from thinking. What Yamato was proposing was dangerous, and anyone in the right mind would reject such a plan. Shinn was inclined to do so, only for the reason that he hated this guy, but thinking with a military-trained analytical mind revealed bit by bit the merits of his proposal, given the current situation and the logistics required. The plan was workable, but Yamato would need people who were properly trained for such action to have a good chance of success. "So where do I fit in this?"

Yamato told him.

Shinn snorted. "I expected that. I guess I'm chosen since I'm expendable?"

Dearka coughed, muttering something Shinn couldn't get. Yamato just shook his head. "_Iie_. You're one of the few among us who could pull this off. I suggested that to Athrun and he agreed."

"Reluctantly, I bet."

"Well, _hai_," Yamato reluctantly admitted.

Shinn stopped as he pondered the request. He felt the quandary of his choice. He had the power of turning Yamato down – he didn't trust the person, or any plan that he might have concocted. But Shinn realized the importance of this moment. The _Archangel_ was about to take a bold step in the direction of their search, which currently coincided with his own personal reasons. By accepting this mission, he could be a step closer into finding more about that person who looked like Stellar, no matter how dangerous it might be. Shinn also understood the importance of the _Archangel's_ mission, and knew it was to his own profit and favor to work on this. Even though he loathed admitting it, he needed the _Archangel_ to succeed, and Shinn felt that he had to lend a hand.

And he was too tired to pick a fight with Yamato – the dream had drained a lot of his current strength.

Shinn plucked his beige jacket from his locker. "You have a planning session for this? I don't want to work on a mission without all bases covered, Yamato."

Yamato nodded again. "We have a meeting about to start."

"Lead on then," Shinn replied. "I just hope that trust of yours in me isn't misplaced, Yamato. I haven't forgotten – nor forgiven - anything you know."

Shinn saw Yamato sigh. "Trust me, Shinn. I know."

* * *

Athrun looked up from the report he was reading as Shinn entered the briefing room, trailed by a smirking Dearka and a neutral-faced Kira. His best friend found him, and nodded wordlessly as he sat beside Lacus. Shinn took a seat opposite him, beside Dearka. Whatever Kira said to him must have worked, though it still looked to Athrun that Shinn was still feeling forced to work with them. But with the mission he was planning, he needed Shinn and his skills. With the heated exchange and short fistfight between him and Shinn, Athrun allowed Kira to handle the convincing part, though he had serious misgivings on how his best friend could do it. That was why he sent Dearka with Kira, to come in between them if things went badly. But from the looks of things, it never came to any chaotic scene.

From her place two seats away to Athrun's left, Ramius-_Kanchou_ cleared her throat. "Is everyone here?" she asked no one in particular. Athrun scanned the room. Meyrin sat to his side, close to Lacus and as far away from Shinn as she could. Chandra-_san_ sat on his other side, next to the _Kanchou_. The two were here for their joint work with him on figuring out how the Archangel's satellite relay was compromised, and were going to join in on the report. La Flaga-_Taisa_, his right arm in a sling, walked over from the small nook where he got coffee for himself and the_ Kanchou_, and sat next to the _Archangel's_ captain. Ramius took the cup and addressed Athrun. "I guess we can start. Athrun-_kun_, if you please."

Athrun straightened his seat and begun. "For those who may not know yet," Athrun said, glancing at Shinn's direction, "we – that is, Chandra-san and Meyrin – may have found a possible reason on how we were tracked and ambush back in the storm. We've run analysis on the satellite relay system, and found our strongest suspect. Meyrin first saw it – a different outbound pulse automatically triggered and blended in with the normal LOS pulse, but a very high frequency and almost imperceptible. The pulse traveled upwards in the first nanosecond, then turned to make contact with a different receiver, situated about a hundred and fifty miles off the Archangel. We figured that receiver must be the carrier or ship that launched the strike against us."

"Chandra-_san_ has run all the diagnostics he could, and he's reported to me and the Kanchou that the relay system's clean. Meyrin and I both checked the work, and agree with Chandra-san's assessment. Though we risked sending a follow transmission back to Orb, we strongly recommend that we consider the system still compromised. The message we sent was only a post-battle report, but I took the liberty of sending a message with Terminal security encryption to Cagalli – she or Kisaka will know what to do about it."

"The content of the encrypted message concerns the plan I formulated with Kira. This is about collecting more information about the raiders as covertly as we could – we can't risk the ship in an attack again. I'm going to delved on the details of the plan now." It took Athrun a good fifteen minutes to present his plan, with all the meeting's participants silently listening to him. "It sounds shaky and risky, I know, but Kira and I had checked all the angles and figured that it has a good chance of success, and I've approached the _Kanchou_ for her approval."

Ramius-_Kanchou_ shifted on her seat. "I've gone over Athrun's proposal, and I'm going to give my final decision on it at the end of this meeting. But I want to hear each and everyone's opinion on it – if you have ideas or doubts, say them now."

Athrun wasn't surprised that Shinn was the first to speak out. He must have a lot questions he wanted answered. "I admit you've got a good plan, Zala, but I still think a four-man team is insufficient for the task. Why not add some more men for the insertion?"

Athrun considered the question before answering. "I think four people will be enough for the job for several reasons. First, we don't have enough trained people for this kind of mission and the majority of qualified personnel are us ZAFT trained personnel. That's the reason I picked you, Shinn," Athrun concluded, preempting the question he anticipated from the Phoenix's pilot.

"So who's it going to be, Zala – you, me, Yamato and Neo?"

Athrun shook his head. "_Iie_, Kira and La Flaga-_Taisa_ are out of this one - for now it' you, me and Dearka here." Athrun glanced at his former La Crueset teammate. "We've all got fieldcraft and infantry training back at the Academy, so we're the best suited for this mission."

Shinn looked smug. "I guess those two can't hack this huh?"

Athrun gritted his teeth and clenched his fist, trying to ward of the angry feeling that was growing from his stomach. He promised himself that he was not going to be baited by Shinn's sarcasm and insulting, but he wasn't having an easy time with it. But the meeting was too serious to be interrupted by him losing his temper. "_Iie_, they're staying behind because we're going to leave the ship very vulnerable with us three out there. With La Flaga-_Taisa_ injured, he's not in one hundred percent condition to fly out in the air, much less go on a mission like this, and the Akatsuki's repairs aren't even finished yet. We're leaving things to Kira's hands and the Strike Freedom, since he's the only pilot left that doesn't have infantry training."

Shinn just smirked at his explanation. "That still leaves us one person less."

Athrun conceded the point. "Our fourth member must be a communication systems expert and at least have some experience with code breaking and hacking. I was thinking of asking Chandra-_san_ to go with us, if the _Kanchou_ would allow it."

Ramius turned to his bespectacled sensors officer. "You think you could do this, Mr. Chandra?"

"I don't know," Chandra replied uncertainly. "Maybe. I can do the tech stuff, but I don't have any infantry training. I was Fleet, remember?"

Athrun blinked. "You didn't go through basic training?"

Chandra nodded. "Not enough to call me qualified to become a grunt. I haven't even had firearms training since before Heliopolis."

Athrun sighed. He should have anticipated this. OMNI Enforcer training was different from what he had undergone with ZAFT. He forgot that the EA's military probably had different training regimens for their different branches, and probably not as extensive as ZAFT's was. "That's okay, Chandra-_san_ – I forgot to consider that. I guess between the three of us, we could work out the technical operations."

"That still leaves our team a man short," Shinn reminded.

"I know. Maybe if La Flaga-_Taisa_ could join us."

The blonde Natural ace was about to answer, but he was cut off by Ramius-Kanchou's. "_Iie_."

La Flaga turned to the Kanchou. "What do you mean 'no'?"

Ramius shook her head. "Because you are in no condition to play grunt, Mu La Flaga. And you do realize that for being Neo Lorrnoke and changing sides from the EA, there's a bounty for you in EA controlled territories?"

"I know – so what?"

Ramius glared at him. "Well, we're not going to risk that – _I'm_ not going to risk that."

"But Murrue –"

"Uhmm, _gomen nasai_."

Athrun blinked as the new voice broke his concentration with the little row between Ramius and La Flaga. Athrun turned to his side, surprised that it was Meyrin speaking. He tried to figure out what she wanted to share, but Meyrin avoided his eyes and kept her attention to the _Kanchou_. "Uh, _Kanchou_, I'd like to volunteer for the mission – I'd like to join Athrun's team."

Everyone's attention was with Meyrin now, and Athrun saw her starting to blush with embarrassment. But he himself felt that this sudden request of hers was incredulous, and could hold back the confusion in his voice. "_What?_"

Meyrin steeled herself and stared straight into Athrun's eyes. "I said I want to join your team."

"Are you kidding?" Athrun couldn't believe what she said. "_Iie_!"

"What do you mean 'no'?" Meyrin demanded, echoing La Flaga beforehand.

"What do I mean?" Athrun spat back, anger boiling. "You're not qualified to do this, Meyrin."

"Who said so? I went through the Academy course, so I know what I'm doing!"

"But you're a bridge officer –"

"Who happens to have advanced training in computer encryption systems and hacking – plus all the necessary communication system skills."

"You don't have field experience!"

"What do you call accompanying Lacus-sama, Kira-san and you in finding and rescuing Meer Campbell? I have field skills and I can handle a gun!"

"_But this is dangerous_!"

"Didn't _I_ go with _you_ on the GOUF from Gibraltar? Wasn't I by your side when he –," Meyrin pointed at Shinn, "shot us down? Wasn't that dangerous too? I can handle myself Athrun Zala."

Athrun felt frustrated. It was already terrifying enough that he was leading this mission – he was afraid he would fail and get Shinn and Dearka killed. But with Meyrin – he didn't know what he'd do. "Please Meyrin," Athrun begged.

"_Iie_, Athrun-_san_ - I'm going." Athrun could see tears forming from beneath her eyes. "If I don't go with you, what will I tell Cagalli-_sama_? She made me promise to stay with you and take care of you." She broke her stare from him. "I won't let you leave me behind, Athrun-_san_."

"She's right, Athrun."

Athrun looked to his right into Lacus' eyes. The songstress shared a look with Kira, who nodded to her. "Meyrin's right, Athrun – she's the best one for the mission."

Athrun was speechless. What was it with me that I'm so easily manipulated by the women in my life? Meyrin was one thing, but Lacus was another. Though she wouldn't show it, Lacus had a way of getting what she wanted when it came to Athrun. She didn't abuse this skill, but Athrun never found himself saying no to what ever she wanted, then and now. And now she was doing it again.

Athrun turned to Kira for support, but the purple eyed Coordinator just shook his head. "I agree with Lacus, Athrun. Sorry."

Athrun looked at the Kanchou, who smiled sadly as she quietly nodded. Seeing that he was going to be outvoted, he relented. "Alright, you're going with us Meyrin, but swear you're going to stay out of and get to safety at the first sign of trouble. I'm taking you along because you have the skills we need, but that's that. I won't be around all the time to protect you and where we're going you'll have to look after yourself as much as we look out for each other. You got that?"

"_Hai,_" Meyrin replied coldly.

* * *

"_Gomen_."

"What are you apologizing for?"

Kira pat Athrun on his shoulders. They were the only one left in the conference room, the others leaving to prepare for tomorrow's mission. Athrun didn't feel like getting up, and he sensed Kira staying behind to wait for him. "For siding with Lacus and the others – for not stopping Meyrin from going on the mission."

Athrun sighed. He couldn't blame Kira – he was in a sense right to see that Meyrin was qualified for the mission. It was only Athrun who was blinded with his concern for her. He wasn't sure how much his concern was, but it was there and it was clouding his judgment. He was sure he didn't want Meyrin to get hurt. "I know what you mean, Kira. It's just - difficult."

"I know." Kira sat beside him. "It's because you care for her and worry about her safety. That's not a bad thing, Athrun."

Athrun looked at his friend. "Is it? I don't know, Kira – I just don't know."

He felt Kira pat him once more, and seconds later heard the door close behind his friend as Kira left. Athrun stayed in the silent room, pondering the events that were coming to him in the near future.

* * *

_**LHM-BB01 Minerva**_

_**South Atlantic**_

_**January 9, CE 75 **_

Hitomi groaned. She was finding out how hard it was to sneak around the _Minerva_, even in the dead of night where the shift was small and there was almost no one around. Add the fact that her body was still sore from her recovery from injuries and inactivity from convalescence, Hitomi was easily tired from her stealthy sojourn.

She was risking the ire of the ship's doctor and her _Taichou_ by doing this – the doctor had specifically ordered her not to leave the sickbay until she was to be released in a couple of days, while _Tai-I_ Hawke had specifically ordered her not to go to the mobile suit hanger to steal a glimpse of her new machine. But she was getting very restless and bored of lying in the sickbay bed doing nothing – she needed to get her body moving around. It was already infuriating for to have been defeated totally at Gibraltar, and now her inactivity was just getting at her nerves. So she decided to risk it, waiting for a chance to slip out of the medical center, and do something to keep herself a little entertained.

And what could be better than to find out what her new mobile suit was. The _Taichou_ had already slipped something to her about it, but the curiosity was killing her. Also, she hoped to get a glimpse of the unit that _Shousa_ Hanenfuss flew down in. The new officer had visited her with the _Taichou_, Madison and Rena yesterday evening, and she got to talk a lot with the _Shousa_. Hanenfuss seemed to a nice person and an excellent pilot – the fact that she was entrusted with a prototype mobile suit to use was evidence of her skill. From what she shared with them, that GELGOOG of hers sounded like an impressive machine. Hitomi wished she got something close to that caliber, but knowing that she was getting a second hand mobile suit dashed that idea. Hanenfuss did see her new machine, but like the _Taichou_ and the rest, she was inclined not to tell anything about it, except that Burt and Youlan had nearly completed the maintenance preparations for it.

She looked around the large hanger bay for anyone who could see her. There were a couple of marines lounging about, talking to one of Youlan's techs. But the three was not looking at her direction, nor did they notice that she was there. Hitomi slid away from the shadows she hid from, and silently made her way between Rena's ZAKU and some of containers of the Impulse's Silhouette packs. Stopping at another corner, she looked into the dark corner where another mobile suit was stacked silently on a maintenance cradle.

That must be the _Shousa's_ GELGOOG. Hitomi looked the new machine over, and was impressed. The mobile suit had a bulky look to it, heftier than her old ZAKU was, and looked ungainly. But it had the look of a massive armored Gothic Knight, with rounded armor plating over its body. A lifter pack was connected to its back, reminiscent of the Justice series of mobile suit. A colorful insignia that looked like some tree was painted on the front left shoulder of the suit, contrasting with its dark gray color scheme. Missile launchers and other weapons protruded from ports, a clear indication that it was well armed for its type.

She was so enamored with staring at the new machine that she nearly jumped out of her shoes as a voice spoke suddenly from behind her back. "I see that you're checking out my partner here, Hitomi-_chan_."

Hitomi let out a shriek and turned instantly to her back. To her total surprise she found Hanenfuss there, smiling back at her. Together with the new officer, also standing and looking at her – though with a frown instead of a smile – was Hawke-_Taichou_. "Hanenfuss-_sama_, Luna-_Taichou_ – "

Apparently, the _Taichou_ was not in the mood to talk. "Hitomi, didn't I tell _not_ to come until you were released from sickbay? Didn't I am specifically order that?"

"Ah. Uhmm. _Hai_."

"Do you know how worried I was when the nurse called me and Shiho-_sama _up, saying that you were missing from the sickbay? I wanted to announce it over the PA, but I figured I'd spare you from the embarrassment."

"_Gomen_. I didn't mean to cause any trouble – "Hitomi croaked. She felt her cheeks redden from disgrace, and barely kept herself from spilling tears.

Luna-_Taichou_ sighed. "Nevermind, I'm not angry, just worried sick. Just _don't_ do it again will you?"

"_Hai_."

Luna-_Taichou_ scratched her magenta bob of hair. "Well, since we're already here, I might as well show you your mobile suit." She stared at Hitomi sternly. "That was the reason why you went down here right?"

Hitomi nodded. Grumbling, Luna-_Taichou_ strode off to a darkened corner of the hanger bay, with a giggling Shiho-_sama _in her trail. Embarrassed, Hitomi followed silently.

She found herself standing in front of a large object shrouded by a large tarpaulin cover. Luna-_Taichou_ headed over to a computer console, and punched in some commands. The hanger lights flashed to life, momentarily blinding Hitomi from its sudden harshness. She heard and felt the loud vibrating rumble that disturbed the quiet of the hanger, as she saw the tarpaulin rise up on thin metal cables.

The thing that was hidden underneath was massive, as large and long as the _Taichou's_ ZGMF-X56S Impulse. It was of a similar design, with a same kind of face attached to its head. Two eye ports lay dormant, ringed by a v-shaped antenna topped by another single pointed one, forming a warrior-like helmet that protected the head actuator. The Latin word "_tre"_ was engraved with the model number X23S on a four-sided head crest in the forehead.

Its grey torso and limbs again showed similarity to the Impulse design features, with some exceptions. The shoulders were of a more pointed design, ending with the white tubes of beam saber grips. A single, massive red and white beam shield was carried on the left arm, while the right hand gripped a mobile suit scale beam rifle. Two barrels of massive beam and plasma cannons hung on each side of the mobile suit's back pack, as well as two flight wings.

The mobile suit had an aerodynamic feel to it, as if it was designed to fly and fight in the air. It looked familiar, as if Hitomi saw it before, but could not place it. She turned as she heard the Shiho-_sama's_ voice.

"ZGMF-X23S Saviour is the name of this unit," Shiho-_sama_ was saying. "The same model series as the Chaos, Gaia, Abyss and Impulse, it was the last one to be built. A very fast and maneuverable machine that can transform into an agile mobile armor-fighter, its well armed with plasma and beam cannons, plus beam sabers for close-in fighting." Hitomi could see the chestnut-haired officer gaze at the machine lovingly. "I never thought I could get a chance to see it – I only saw the specs for it and its prototype. And to think Gibraltar finally resurrected it after the beating it took from the Freedom."

"Agreed," whispered Luna-Taichou. "_I_ never thought I would see it again."

Confused, Hitomi turned to her team commander. "What do you mean, _Taichou_? Did you – " she suddenly paused, as realization struck her, from the stories her _Taichou_ told her about the last war. "You mean, this is – "

"_Hai,_ Hitomi-_chan_, _Hai," _the Taichou replied solemnly. "This was Athrun's unit, before it was shot down at Crete."

"The Saviour!" Hitomi shouted. _This_ was Athrun's Zala's unit, when he came back from his self-imposed exile in Orb and re-enlisted in ZAFT as a member of the FAITH Special Forces. The machine the late Chairman Dullindal entrusted to him, and in which Athrun fought his battles as a pilot and erstwhile team commander of the Minerva. Hitomi had only seen battle videos of the machine in action, usually battling the stolen Chaos in the skies over Asia and Eurasia. The Saviour was heavily damaged at Crete, decapitated by Kira Yamato and the Freedom. It was a unique unit, but due to its heavy damage it was not repaired and used in the latter part of the war. That Gibraltar had just finally completed evidenced the massive repairs and resources needed to return this machine to it fighting and working form. And now it was being assigned to her.

Wait a minute, wait a minute! This was being assigned to her? "Uh, Luna-_Taichou_ – "

Her team leader chuckled. "I know, I know. You're wondering _why_ the Saviour is being given to _you_?"

Wordlessly, Hitomi nodded.

The _Taichou_ looked at the dormant machine once more. "Well, I thought you were the best one for it. When I requested reinforcements to cover your lost ZAKU, I was at first surprised that Gibraltar sent this. I thought 'What were they thinking?'"

"Then I realized that this was the best one for you, Hitomi-_chan_. I know Madison maybe better than you in training, but it actual combat you are ahead. I've seen you handle a mobile suit, and I'm proud to say that you have the potential to be one of the best. You only lack experience and the machine to fight with, and the Saviour could be the one for you. You only have to learn to maximize your skills, and wizen up to the fight."

"I know you're bothered by your fight with the Wraith back in Gibraltar, but you could have won that fight had the Wraith didn't slam the both of you to the side of the Rock. You could have beaten him. So don't let the fight bother you anymore."

Hitomi winced. Though the _Taichou_ was right in saying that she was bothered by her loss in battle, it wasn't for the same reasons. She could have won alright, but she could find herself firing the killing shot to kill Leva – not that she really could, with all her weapons disabled and her ZAKU decapitated, but she felt she could never kill Leva in any condition. But she felt reinforced by the _Taichou's_ praise and concern for her, and a smile was forming on her face as she looked up to the Saviour's face. "Thank you, _Taichou_, for all that you've said. I promise to do better the next time."

The _Taichou_ poked Hitomi's forehead with a finger. "Just don't let my praise get into your head, Minamoto. I don't want doing heroics up there just because you're flying that thing. A good machine and pilot doesn't guarantee victory. Always remember what the Freedom did to the Saviour – I don't want to be the one recovering your mangled body the next time somebody slices up this mobile suit again. Promise me you won't get yourself nearly killed again - because I promise you that if that ever happens, _I'll_ be the one you get you and finish off the job."

* * *

"You seem to be very concerned with your girls, Luna-_chan_," Luna heard Shiho ask her. They watched as Hitomi hobbled away from them, after she had admonished her to go back to the sick bay.

Luna sighed and leaned on the Saviour's right foot. "They all remind me of my younger sister - they're about her age. She was a _Minerva_ crewmember before she left ZAFT. "

"Where is she now? At the PLANTs?" asked Shiho.

"_Iie_, Meyrin's on Orb."

Shiho grinned. "Oh. Did she emigrate there after the war?"

Luna winced. "Not really. She was there before we hit them in Fury." Luna saw Shiho watching her curiously. "It's complicated – someday I'll tell you about it."

"Okay," Shiho relented, accepting Luna's answer. "I guess you miss her."

"Well, yeah, but that's not really why I think about her," said Luna. "More like worry."

Shiho blinked. "Why? Is she in some sort of trouble?"

Luna shook her head. "Iie, I don't think so. But with the company she keeps, I have a bad feeling she might be."

* * *

_**Pontevilla**_

_**Argentina Sector**_

_**Occupied South America**_

_**January 10, CE 75**_

It was a darkened sky that cast its shadowy veil over the sleepy seaside town of Pontevilla. The moon was new - the light that it cast from the reflection of the faraway sun was dead, leaving no illumination in the cold of the night. It was a dangerous time for waterborne vessels to travel close to the shores, the sharp rocks and reefs pose lethal traps to foolhardy mariners. No vessel of any kind was tonight, not wanting to tease the sea gods.

But the darkness was the perfect cover for a covert seaborne insertion, and this was exploited that night. No one saw the submarine appear on the surface nearly a mile off the coast, its white bridge tower and two rear fins cresting majestically out of the Pacific. It stabilized its surfacing as its twin bow crested the waterline, clearing its forward middle hatch used for tender ships over the considerable waves. The tender hatch vibrated as it opened outward, exposing the darkened internal bay of the ship to the rough sea.

Within seconds a rubber Zodiac shot out of the bay, struggling to travel through the disturbed waters off the ship. As soon the small boat had cleared the ship, the submarine closed its hatch and secured for diving. The big legged ship slid as silently as it could back into the abyss of the ocean, leaving the Zodiac as it traveled under power towards the looming shoreline. The four shadowy figures that crewed it watch their ship disappear silently, attuning themselves to the gargantuan task in front of them.

A kilometer away from shore, they killed the outboard engine, careful to avoid anyone from hearing it's whining. They pulled out paddles and started paddling under their own power, heading for a small beach pinpointed by the portable GPS system they carried. The salt water sprays bit into their black and dark green Nomex stealth suits, and chilled them with stinging cold. They endured this in the fifteen minutes it took to reach the beach, and they jumped out of the Zodiac into the pebbled sand, and dragged the boat as they ran inland.

In his planning Athrun had considered this spot, and the stealth advantage for his team. There was a small cave at the southern end of this beach, which was only a short hundred meters long and rarely frequented by people. The cave was close enough to the water for a quick getaway, and it was also within short reach of a back road, which provided access for them to Pontevilla. And, if the arrangements were met, his team could get into town without much trouble. If not, then he could abort the mission and rendezvous back with _Archangel_ after a few hours.

They reached the cave safely, and stowed the Zodiac in it for safe storage. With weapons out the three men posted watch outside the cave, giving some privacy for Meyrin as she struggled out of her waterproofed gear into dry clothes they carried in their packs. She stepped out to them as soon as she finish, allowing the rest to change themselves. They quickly do this, and joined up with Meyrin outside.

They all wore simple clothes: Athrun in his green jacket and dark pants, Meyrin in red blouse and jacket with cream slacks, Dearka sported his checkered underneath the beige jacket and jeans, while Shinn decked out in his grey sweater and blue jeans. They didn't carry much gear, except for a chronometer with built-in GPS, emergency beacon and short ranged communicator, and S&W 10mm semi-automatic pistol with an extra clip for protection for each. They didn't need to bring anything else, choosing to rely on their contact for the other needed equipment.

"Everyone set?" Athrun asked his companions. All three nodded assent. "Let's go."

Dearka took the lead, pistol out, heading up to the tree line to where the road was, with Shinn covering his rear. Athrun stepped beside Meyrin. "Are you okay?"

Meyrin ignored him, as she did ever since the meeting back on the ship ended. She hadn't talked to him all day, even though they were together most of the time preparing for this mission. Athrun could see the she was scared, but had steeled herself to hide it. Athrun, however, had seen through her façade, and tried to calm her down. But an angry retort from her shut him up, and he quietly surrendered in his attempts. It was uncomfortable for Athrun, having gotten used to being friendly and open with Luna's sister.

_I guess I was too hard on her. I should apologize when I can._ Athrun did try to say sorry, but Meyrin always turned away from him before he could say anything. Sighing, he followed her as she raced after the other two.

The four reached the edge of the road stealthily but quickly. Taking cover behind some rocks, Athrun took out a small penlight and flashed it three times into the darkness, as the others covered him, guns drawn. They waited for several seconds, before two flashes came back to them from the shadows. The team slowly stood up and walked forward, their pistols pointed at the directions of the flash.

"About time you guys showed up. I was getting worried." A voice – male and familiar - whispered from the darkness.

"Come out nice and slowly so I can see you," Athrun commanded from behind his gun.

There was a rustling of grass and moving of shadows, as too men stepped out into the open. They had their hands up, showing that they were not a threat, though one of the men, a burly native-looking individual, was holding a submachine gun. The other one stepped casually in front of the other and looked at Athrun and Dearka. "Could you please put the guns down? I'm already terrified as it is you know," the man said, smiling.

Athrun heard Dearka laugh, as the blonde Coordinator lowered his weapon.

The man chuckled. "What a way to treat an old comrade."

Athrun grinned, as he holstered his own pistol. "It's nice to see you too, Sai."

Sai Argyle shook his head. "When I got the message from Kuzzey and Andrew that I had visitors coming, I never expected you lot." He approached Dearka, who offered his hand in greeting.

"Ha! Well I never expected to visit," Dearka answered back, as Sai pumped his hand. "We're on a weird vacation, eh?"

The young Natural smiled behind his orange spectacles. "Very weird indeed." He spread his arms to take in the dark surroundings. "I welcome you to the occupied lands of South America. It's a fun place to visit, as dark as the blood thirsty bastards who run it now under the point of a gun. I hope you find what you're looking for here, because I promise you that you're in for a very interesting visit."

* * *

1 The Soule/Gildden 12000 is the software used by Kira and Lacus to read the disk containing Meer's diary on Kira's laptop in Phase 47. Think of it as the Microsoft Word of the Cosmic Era. I just updated the version to 12001.

* * *


End file.
